WINDERMERE Town Council has warned it will not continue to "bail out" South Lakeland District Council, after reluctantly agreeing to part-fund the town's toilets for another year.

Councillors have fired off a letter to SLDC agreeing to continue part-funding six Lakes loos but expressing "extreme disappointment" that the authority could not fully fund the conveniences itself.

Windermere mayor Coun Pat Holmes said: "We need to make it clear we will review the situation year by year. It is not to be taken as read that this council will continue to bail out SLDC.

"It's a sad situation but I think this is the only way forward."

Coun Jim Morphet added: "I'm disgusted that SLDC comes up with these proposals year after year."

Under the present arrangement Windermere Town Council pays £40,000 towards the £78,000 upkeep of the six toilets in Bowness and Windermere and SLDC pays the rest.

The conveniences are: Broad Street, Braithwaite Fold, Baddeley Clock, Quarry Rigg, Rayrigg Meadow and a disabled loo at Windermere Station.

But not all the loos are open all year. Braithwaite Fold will close next month until mid March and Rayrigg Meadow will close between December and February. A situation Coun Morphet branded a disgrace.

"How can we expect people to drive three or four hours and find some car park toilets shut," he said. "It's a disgrace in a tourist area. All our car park toilets should be open during the day."

Flying chaplain...

A ROYAL Air Force officer from Kendal who spent three years as curate at Ulverston Parish Church has graduated with flying colours from a prestigious RAF College. The Rev (Flt Lt) Peter Tollerson has completed No 282 Specialist Entrant and Re-Entrant (SERE) course at RAF Cranwell, near Sleaford, Lincolnshire. Mr Tollerson, whose mother Winnie still lives in Kendal, attended Queen Katherine School, Kendal, before graduating from Oak Hill Theological College, London, where he graduated with a DipHe Theological and Pastoral Studies. He joined the RAF in August after spending three years as curate at Ulverston Parish Church and has now been posted to RAF Lyneham, at Chippenham, Wiltshire as a chaplain.

Probation for gunman' A MAN who was found firing a gun in a local park while drunk was put on probation for 12 months and ordered to do 100 hours community service.

Graham Kaye, 33, of Atkinson Court, Newby Bridge, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while prohibited from doing so, being drunk in possession of a firearm and taking a dinghy without the owners consent.

Prosecuting, Gareth Bellis said that on September 8 the manager of Fell Foot Park, Newby Bridge, saw a man carrying an air rifle and firing it into the bushes while families were making use of the grounds. He then walked to the shore and boarded a dinghy without the owners consent.

In mitigation, Peter Sharp said Kaye's wife had bought the firearm as a birthday present and he was unaware of the prohibition.

An order for the forfeiture and destruction of the firearm was made and Kaye was ordered to pay £70 costs.

Gay group call A NEW gay social group targeting men and women in the Kendal area is launched next week.

The first meeting of Out in Kendal takes place at the Brewery Art Centre's Intro bar on October 28 at 7.30pm. Organised by Jo Moore, the club is designed to help raise the profile of gay people in the Kendal area.

"On returning to Cumbria earlier this year, I was amazed to find next to nothing in the way of a gay scene' or indeed any kind of formal networks which gay people could access locally," she said. "Not everyone wants to travel to Liverpool or Manchester for a night out, so that's why I decided to try and set something up in the Kendal area."

Adding: "There is no reason why urban centres should have a monopoly on gay initiatives."

Mini digger stolen A MINI digger and accessories worth an estimated £17,000 have been stolen from a building site near Old Hutton. The grey and red Tacheuchui 125 Excavator, together with a ditching blade, a 12ins bucket and two 18ins excavation buckets were stolen between 6.30pm on Tuesday, October 12, and 7am on Wednesday, October 13. Kendal police are urging anyone who may have seen a suspicious car or people in the area to contact them on 01539-722369. Alternatively, witnesses can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.