'Mindless' vandals trash toilets at Sunderland's new £27million train station, less than two months after opening

Vandals have trashed the toilets at Sunderland's new £27million station less than two months after it opened to the public.

Northern Rail, which operates the station, said there have been "a number of incidents of vandalism" and the latest incident has forced the closure of the facilities.

Although yet to be completed, the new southern entrance at has been in use since December 8.

Echo readers have told us that the largely empty space is used as "a playground" , especially after dark.

The new toilets, including a disabled toilet, have been closed to the public with a sign saying simply, "Toilets closed due to vandalism".

The Echo understands that this has been the case for days. Northern Rail has not said exactly what damage has occurred behind the toilet doors, which are currently locked, or when the public conveniences will be back in use.

However, they did say that the British Transport Police, Sunderland City Council and Nexus are aware of the situation.

Kerry Peters, who is regional director for Northern, said: “Unfortunately, we have seen a number of incidents of vandalism at Sunderland station in recent weeks.

"This is very disappointing given the recent investment in the station and the inconvenience it causes to our customers.

"We are working closely with British Transport Police, the local authority and Nexus to bring an end to this mindless activity.”

Although the station is in use, it is not yet complete. Previously the station had no toilets at all; something which had annoyed generations of rail users.

The December 8 opening was greeted with some fanfare by Network Rail, Nexus, Grand Central, Northern Rail and the council.

Anyone with information on the vandalism can report it anonymously on the British Transport Police website.