All seven of Belfast's automated pay-as-you-go public toilets are currently out of order, according to council documents. The units, which charge 20p per use, have been closed for extended periods over the past year.

A maintenance contract for the facilities expired at the end of summer and was not renewed. Belfast City Council is now arranging a 12-month replacement contract with a new firm at a cost of £98,000. The new contractor has said it is confident it can restore at least five of the units.

The council has cited severe vandalism, damaged components and the loss of experienced local engineers as reasons for the prolonged closures. Most of the toilets in use are more than 20 years old, which the council says puts them past their operational lifecycle and makes replacement parts increasingly difficult to source.

The first 'superloos' were installed in the city in 1988 and were replaced with the current models in the early 2000s. The automated units normally operate for more than 15 hours per day. Members of the public are being redirected to standard council toilets, which open between 9am and 5.30pm and in some cases are locked on Sundays.

The issue came to light after politicians raised concerns about the state of automated toilets at Victoria Park in east Belfast. A city-wide review of council assets will include public toilets in parks, and that process could lead to facilities at Victoria Park being upgraded.