GODMANCHESTER’S public toilets are flushing again after nearly a year of silent cisterns because of spending cuts.

The town’s loos, beside the Chinese Bridge, were closed on April 1 last year when Huntingdonshire District Council pulled the plug on paying for any public conveniences other than those at Huntingdon bus station.

St Ives and St Neots town councils gave in to pressure from HDC, saying their towns’ public facilities were too important to citizens to lose.

Now Godmanchester has followed suit. Yesterday, the town’s mayor, Councillor Alan Welton, pulled on his chain of office to reopen the toilets on Welsh patron St David’s Day – traditional symbol the leek.

Although Godmanchester Town Council will be paying the �13,000 a year to clean and maintain the toilets, the contract with a private contractor will still be managed by HDC.

n Richard Butcher, David Taylor, Mayor Alan Welton, Alan Martin and Sue Worthington.