A furious row has broken out after a school was accused of shutting down toilets for pupils during the day with parents slamming it as a “breach of their human rights”. Knox Academy, Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, has temporarily locked a block of communal toilets because of vandalism concerns. 

But distraught parents have claimed their youngsters are finding other toilets are also closed during the day, and that some children are restricting how much they drink to avoid an accident. East Lothian Council told Express.co.uk that “a small number of individual facilities were out of order due to vandalism”, but that there were other toilets available on site. 

However, the reaction from parents has seen a petition gain a reported 18,000 signatures pleading for national reaction from the  Government to force the toilets open. 

But according to The East Lothian Courier, some former school cleaners have said the state of the toilets made for stomach-churning conditions in which to do their job. 

One told the paper people would be “horrified” if they had seen the facilities for themselves, addeding: “I was shown period products, dirty ones, littered everywhere, bathroom bins set on fire, toilets clogged with crisp packets among other s****.

“I agree they shouldn’t be locked, using the toilets is a basic human right, but something needs to be done because they can’t be locked but they also can’t be constantly destroyed like that. It’s utterly revolting.”

Despite the alleged appalling conditions, worried parents have backed the campaign for a petition on social media. One lady wrote online: “They shouldn’t need to dehydrate themselves because they can’t fulfil their basic human rights of using welfare facilities.”

Another mother of a pupil who had been affected, said: “It seems to be mostly the girls’ bathrooms; one of my kids never takes a drink to school for this very reason.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “There are toilets available at Knox Academy for all pupils throughout the school day.

“Recently a small number of individual facilities were out of order due to vandalism, necessitating their closure. Parents can contact the school directly with any concerns or comments.”

Express.co.uk have contacted Knox Academy for comment.