Mid and East Antrim Council ‘plans to replace’ portable loos at Islandmagee beach

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service had to be called to rescue a woman stuck in a portable toilet at Brown’s Bay in Islandmagee during the summer.
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The incident occurred on a weekend evening at a toilet unit in the carpark.

A crew from Whitehead Fire Station attended the incident on the evening of July 24.

A spokesperson for Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said: “Firefighters were called to a reports of a woman stuck in a container toilet. Firefighters used hydraulic spreading equipment to rescue the woman.”

Portable toilets at Brown's Bay in Islandmagee.Portable toilets at Brown's Bay in Islandmagee.
Portable toilets at Brown's Bay in Islandmagee.

NIFRS was alerted at 8.31 pm and the woman was freed from the unit 23 minutes later.

The council-owned toilet block at Brown’s Bay carpark has been demolished. A block of portable toilets is currently in operation.

It is one of the sites identified as a potential  location for use by mobile camper vans in the borough.

Visitors to  the East Antrim beach have reported “never-ending queues”on busy days during the summer which has left people questioning on social media why “a popular spot like Brown’s Bay doesn’t at least have well maintained public toilets”.

The toilet block was damaged in an arson attack in 2017. Click here to read

A spokesperson for Mid  and East Antrim Borough Council said: “Council plan to replace the portable facilities, subject to available funding, in line with the shared Council and community vision for the area. Council have currently submitted a funding application for this.”

Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporting Service

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