Toilet rises to call of nature

The toilet is close to taxi and bus services in the city

A pop-up toilet is to provide relief for men who may have had too much to drink on a night out in Durham City.

From Thursday the cylindrical loo will rise from underneath the pavement at the press of a button.

The high-tech urinal coincides with the opening of a new bar, Walkabout, in the city's North Road. The £20,000 urinal has been paid for by the pub.

Nick Bond is the manager of the drinking establishment, which is based in the building that used to be home to the Robins Cinema.

He said: "It has a capacity for three males to use at the same time.

"It looks like a massive drum with three dents in it, and is well lit-up.

Stainless steel

"Hopefully it will stop drinkers using people's yards, or dark alleyways.

"It is close by to other drinking establishments, taxi rank, and bus services."

By day the stainless steel toilet is disguised as a manhole cover, rising from the ground between the hours of 2230 and 0230 BST.

The council will pay for the upkeep of the toilets, one of which is already in place.

The six-feet-high units were first used in London in 2002, and are also in place in Dutch cities.