Worthing toilets CCTV: 'full investigation' follows fresh concerns

In August, the Worthing Herald and Sussex World reported on concerns over privacy after a resident pointed out the CCTV camera inside the building.

Kevin Baker, 67, got in touch to say he was ‘shocked’ after seeing camera was was worried it was filming people at the urinal.

Worthing Borough Council responded, stating the cameras, which had been installed in response to anti-social behaviour, were not filming people using toilets and that footage was stored securely.

A council spokesperson said of the camera at the time: “It does not cover the urinals or the inside of the cubicles, clearly if it did this would indeed be completely unacceptable. There is no remote access and no screen on site to view any footage. If a member of the public did move the camera, they would not be able to access the footage.”

However, a photograph received by this newspaper showed the camera was, in fact, pointed at the urinals, and a screen was kept on site and accessed by an anonymous resident after a cupboard was ‘left wide open’.

An Adur & Worthing Councils spokesperson said the camera was recently vandalised and needed replacing, but was unfortunately not installed correctly.

“We are grateful to the Worthing Herald for bringing this issue to our attention and are taking this matter extremely seriously,” the spokesperson added. “We strive to provide and operate toilet facilities for residents and visitors that are clean, safe and accessible.

"These toilets, like other public toilets, have seasonal opening times. They were closed on October 1 this year and will not open again until March 31, 2024. During this time we will be undertaking a full investigation into how this happened and what we can do to ensure we improve.

“The public should feel reassured that recordings are only viewed if requested by the police. This requires councils’ staff and personnel from our security contractor to facilitate access to the recording equipment. The recording equipment is stored in a locked cupboard and is password protected.”