Disabled children at an Idle school will soon be able to spend a penny in modern toilet blocks thanks to a cash injection of £130,000.

Councillors are set to approve the scheme to replace toilets at Greenfield Special School described as "undignified and unhygienic'' in a report to be put before the education committee tomorrow.

One member of the education committee, Liberal Democrat Councillor David Ward, went as far as to condemn the current conditions as "medieval.''

"The present conditions are appalling. Never mind Victorian conditions, the present state of the toilets at Greenfield is almost medieval.

"We are glad the Council has finally listened to the complaints made by pupils, by parents and by staff.

"It is a frankly disgusting state of affairs to have allowed children with special needs to put up with the present toilets for so long."

Education committee chairman, Councillor Jim Flood, said the work was long overdue

"Pupils and staff have put up with unsatisfactory conditions for too long and once this scheme is approved I want work to start as soon as possible,'' he said.

"We have wanted to carry out improvements at Greenfield for some time, but it has unfortunately been delayed because of the huge demands on our buildings work budget.''

Idle Councillor Ken Baxter has long campaigned for the toilet facilities at the school to be overhauled.

"I was invited to the school some years ago to look at the facilities and I was shocked. These children need privacy which they currently cannot get," he said.

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