Wasn't allowed to use disabled toilet despite the fact no other toilet was available. AIBU?

[fakenamefornow]

Seaside town with beach that stretches about 1.5 miles away from town centre with just flats and houses facing beach, ie no pubs or cafés that might let me use the toilet. It's about 10am rainy January morning, nobody else about apart from about two/three people and dogs on the beach.
Half way along on seafront is a public toilet block. Both mens and womens shuttered up and locked. Disabled toilet, locked, had a phone number to call for remote access so they could let people in. Called number and despite me pleading that I was desperate for the loo (I was) and pointing out no others available, I was refused absolutely point blank access because I wasn't disabled.
I don't think this is fair at all, but what do others think?
YANBU - she should have let you in.
YABU - no way should she have let you in regardless of how much you needed the loo.

I suspect a lot of this is to do with vandalism. I worked for the council and you would be shocked at what people do to toilets. A real issue was seasonal loos that opened April-Oct and people accessing disabled loo with radar keys. Broken sinks, broken toilets blood spray up walls. Someone set fire to baby change unit once so a loo had to be shut down. Never reopened due to funding.

I appreciate you were genuine but they’ll probably of had another call from someone who sounded genuine and then thousands of pounds worth of carnage later the decision is taken from up high that this is the way to go.

Tbh I think the real issue is with the antisocial buggers who cause such destruction. I suspect it’s the sort of crime that doesn’t get prosecuted often. A small minority of people ruin things for the rest of us.

I once used the mens toilet in Venice because there was a long queue for the womens. And I have used the disabled one many times rather than queue. A toilet is a toilet. A disabled loo just means that disabled people have priority) like seats on public transport) not that it cant be used by anyone else.

It really isn’t difficult. If you have a condition which means you are likely to poo your pants at the drop of a hat, then you are considered disabled and should use the appropriate toilet.

What would you do in the event of a random pooing your pants emergency and there was no toilet?

How can a disabled person have priority if you are already in there?

If a ex with a radar lock is locked from the inside, they cannot be opened with a radar key. The internal and external locking systems are different.

Unless the lock is broken when its pretty much a free for all then. I've both accidentally opened and had doors opened on me.

As previous people have said, this is a Changing Places not just a standard disabled toilet. The equipment is so expensive and as the sign states has been provided with help from a disabled charity. Im glad you have to buzz/ring for entry as it stops people who don't need it (and are just buying radar keys online!!) using it. If it was a radar key entry, it would more than likely get trashed straight away by groups of kids and others who don't actually need it and have wrongly bought radars.
I use Changing Places for my child who is a full time wheelchair user and needs hoisting and the use of the bench.
Your complaint needs to be to the council about why the regular toilets were closed, not about you not being able to access the Changing Place that you were rightly refused entry for.

So do you have to prove your disability to the person on the phone and then they decide whether you are disabled enough to use their toilet?

We have an accessible toilet at work and when the cleaners work on the regular loos, we have to use the other toilet. There are two keys. When you go in, you take the key in with you but to lock it you push the handle down and that locks it. Numerous times other employees took the other key and unlocked from the outside.

Get in touch with your local Reform candidate and ask them to raise a fuss about woke bullshit.

Eventually, the legacy parties will realise that when they preside over shit public services, people will hold their nose and vote for almost anything that promises better.

Sorry, disabled toilets are 'woke bullshit'???

I presume your nose holding and shit metaphors are unintentionally hilarious.

Just fyi, if these are the toilets at the Tropicana, then Winston’s fish and chip place isn’t far (yes, I know it’s not a public toilet, but I’m sure they’d let you use their toilets, and if the worst came to the worst, you might have to buy some of their delicious chips)

I think the poster was sarcastic.

Genuinely, I can't tell these days on here.

I sincerely hope so. Genius extended metaphor if so.

Yeah like others have said that’s not just a standard disability toilet. That’s specialist stuff.

The complaint shouldn’t be they wouldn’t let you use the totally not needed facility not designed for you and more why were the other toilets locked.

Though we know why. Vandalism because they are not kept locked via buzz entry.

Absolute madness! What is wrong with people, complain, this is beyond ridiculous!

Put yourself in the position of someone with a stoma bag that’s leaking and it’s an emergency situation. An accessible toilet means you have priority but there’s a long queue of people with no visible disability. You are now in a position where your choices are to allow the bag to burst, or announce your disability and predicament to the whole queue and hope that someone will take pity on you. I have no problem with those who have hidden disabilities. What I do have a problem with is posters like OP who think they have an automatic right to an accessible toilet because nothing else is available.

The problem here is that the mainstream toilets are locked. Accessible toilets are not meant to be substitutes in these cases, but councils rely on all and sundry using them so that their maintenance costs are reduced. Complain to your local council and lobby to get the standard toilets opened rather than complaining that something that wasn’t meant for you isn’t available.

Sometimes it is not about doing things right, it is about doing the right thing.

Well the op said she wasn't disabled then argued her point, nobody should have to beg to use a toilet, but it was a changing places toilet and as numerous posters have said they have expensive equipment in them so i can see why they wouldn't let some random in it,

In which case the local authority should be doing the right thing and making public toilets available to the public, not forcing non disabled people to seek permission to use a facility that was not meant for them.

Surely the entire point of disabled and accessible toilets is to make sure that no one is left without a toilet they can reliably use.

No one should be put in the position where they might have an accident because there is no toilet.

Of course they should have let you use the toilet.

The public toilet situation in this country is absolutely desperate (pun intended). Every single person needs to pee/poo while out using public amenities, so if there are no toilets, people will and do have to risk going in bushes, alleys etc…I see so many outraged posts on social media about human waste in public areas and how disgusting people are, but it’s a problem being driven by utter lack of other options.

I understand that public toilets have been used for drug abuse and other vices. Twas ever so - but the solution can’t be that we just don’t have toilets at all. It’s ableist in particular; the country is full of people with disabilities who don’t qualify for legal recognition or any benefits, and the lack of provision means they basically can’t go out and enjoy public spaces.

The people running the campaign absolutely should be told that their user base are being required to itemise their medical conditions out loud, whilst remaining on the public highway, to some random on the end of the phone who may or may not decide they are worthy to use the loo.

Its completely against the spirit of inclusion which underpins the campaign.

Agree with this. It’s down to the council making more facilities available and not forcing people to seek permission to use specialist facilities not meant for them.

I meant the person on the end of the phone who wouldn't allow the OP to use the toilet.
In my opinion they should have let them and this situation is and was ridiculous.