EVERYONE has been guilty of leaving the bathroom light on at times – but it appears Shepway District Council could have done so for over ten years.

The Herald reported in 2009 that a timer had broken in the Seabrook public toilets, resulting in 24-hour illumination. SDC said then that it was to be replaced "immediately" but that the council was "unsure how long the lights have been left on."

But Joy MacMillan, who lives in Horn Street and alerted the Herald to the original problem, believes they may not have been turned off since.

The 54-year-old said: "I drove past the other night and thought: 'oh my God, they're still on'.

"To the best of my knowledge, they're on 24/7. If that's the same for every public toilet in Shepway, imagine what the bill is.

"And even if it's only that one, it's going to be a lot of money."

Mrs MacMillan said in 2009 that she had never seen the lights off in the 10 years she had lived nearby.

She then described the waste of electricity as "outrageous" and "a disgrace".

Speaking to the Herald this week, she added: "It's still the same.

"It makes me so cross that this happens when everyone else is doing their best to save money, including the council.

"They'll probably say that the switch was replaced and has since broken again but I don't believe it.

"I think they've been left on ever since."

A spokesman for SDC said: "We would be very surprised if the lights have been left on overnight since 2009.

"We will investigate but it is possible that the cleaners left them on or that there's an electrical fault."

The spokesman added that the bill for lighting the toilets, for the year finishing in June 2011, was £223.11.