VANDALISM and fears of drug abuse in cemetery toilets has resulted in a town council spending nearly £1,000 on security measures for them.

Chilton Town Council has found pop bottles in the toilets of the town cemetery which it thinks may have been used as bungs to take drugs.

Damage has also been caused by burning in the toilets at Chilton Cemetery in recent months.

To combat the problem the town council has fitted locks to the doors which require a Radar key to open them.

It has cost roughly £700 to fit the locks and with new lights also needing to be placed in the toilets the total bill is likely to be about the £1,000 mark.

Town clerk Paul Gray said: “We’ve had problems with people going into the toilets and allegedly doing drugs and damage has been caused too.

“We have a lot of elderly people who go to the cemetery and it is a long walk from Chilton so we need the toilets.

“So the council decided to put the locks on them. It’s a shame as the £1,000 could have been used to do something else.”

The keys can be bought for £2 from the town council offices on Durham Road. They can be used on any Radar lock in the country and the council will give a refund if they are returned.