A PUBLIC toilet in Tunbridge Wells which has attracted fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour has finally been demolished.

Father Ed Tomlinson, parish priest of nearby St Barnabas' Church, has been campaigning for three years to have the "grot spot" removed.

And finally this week workers moved in to bulldoze the block, which has been closed since March 2004.

Fr Tomlinson said: "I am extremely relieved that the eyesore has gone.

"People have wanted to get it down before I came here which was three years ago and I've been asking for that long.

"It has attracted a lot of rubbish, fly-tipping and there has been instances of people behaving not too pleasantly.

"It will make a big difference to the whole look of the place. What made it an urgency was the opening of the Barna-bus pre-school.

"It was looking horrible in front of the school."

He added he hoped to build a side extension to the church for the planned community centre on part of the land.

County councillor for St James' ward Kevin Lynes, who also campaigned for the toilets demolition, said: "It has been a huge problem for local residents. Nobody wants to live in an area which looks like a slum.

"What it will do is open up the vista onto St Barnabas' Church which you can't see at the moment because it has been covered by the toilets."

The demolition work was funded by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and the Diocese of Rochester.