A major refurbishment of a town's public toilets is well under way – with plans to introduce contactless payment inside the facilities.

The Gill public toilets in Ulverston have temporarily closed while a number of changes are made to the site, including: a new slate roof; new doors; new sanitary ware; and the introduction of contactless payment.

The first stage of the renovation plans is currently taking place, with Ulverston business Matthew Shaw replacing the toilets' roof.

New doors are scheduled to be fitted on all of the cubicles to enable payment by swipe, while one toilet will retain its cash facility.

The final section of the work will be a complete refurbishment of all three cubicles including new sanitary ware.

Plans to introduce contactless payment in the town council-run facility were put forward after issues arose with the coin machines.

Residents were split in opinion on the introduction of contactless payment, with some praising the move towards modern card payments.

Emma Ferrie said: "Great news. Keeping public toilets open and in good condition is good to see. Option of contactless payment is excellent; nothing worse than not having right change available in an emergency. Payment by coin still available also, so all good."

Manda Barrow said: "No toilet should have a charge to go!"

Before its closure, the public toilet was open from 7am until 7pm and had a 20p charge.

Most other publicly-accessed toilets in the town were open during daytime hours when the businesses operated until lockdown began last year.