I cannot make my mind up whether this is a testament to the withdrawal of public conveniences or the reduction of rural bus services or just an example of human grossness but Slimbridge has been hit with a bit of a problem, I read this week.

The Gloucestershire village is served by a Number of buses (6, 61 and 346 in particular) but recently had an unexpected and unwelcome rash of visits from the number two. The bus shelters had been used as a toilet and the cleaner was naturally pissed off to have to clear up the mess.

The Parish Council sat to deliberate and, according to Chairman Phil Garrett, considered a Belt and braces approach to the problem. I would have thought it was the absence of belts and braces that had contributed to the mess. Anyhow, they eschewed the installation of CCTV on the grounds of cost and decided to erect this rather natty and unusual sign, the design for which was unanimously acclaimed at their Annual General Meeting last year. They were attracted to the design because at A5 size, it was more discreet and articulated the message well.

It seems to have done the trick. There have been no reported incidents since the signage was installed three months ago.

Life in the countryside, eh?