They have been described as a Godsend for walkers and runners desperate to spend a penny.
But two temporary portable toilets are now out of action after vandals pushed them over.
The toilets were installed at Keswick station, and have provided much-needed relief for people using the Keswick to Threlkeld trail since the permanent facilities were closed down 10 years ago.
It is thought the vandals struck sometime between Sunday and Tuesday this week, and it is likely to be several days before inspectors from Allerdale Borough Council can assess the damage and fix the problem.
Keswick town councillor Paul Titley described the perpetrators as “mindless”.
He said: “I was marshalling a parkrun on the trail on Saturday, and with over 100 runners present the toilets were very busy as you might expect.
“Yet when I came down on Tuesday I saw that some mindless idiots had tipped them over. It’s a real pain in the neck, because even if it’s a case of just righting them it’s going to be one hell of a messy job. Meanwhile there are no toilet facilities in the area, which is going to cause a great deal of inconvenience for people using the trail.
“With no permanent toilets they really are a Godsend.”
The six-mile trail reopened in December 2020 after a £7 million repair project, and it is estimated around half a million people have walked or cycled on it in 2020.
Councillors from Keswick and Allerdale have held meetings to discuss reopening the toilets. As part of the plan, Allerdale Borough Council has applied for a Changing Places grant of £40,000 from government to put a state-of-the-art disability toilet alongside two or three possible unisex toilets.
