Robin Smith: ‘It’s an al fresco loo’

SPECIAL paint is being brought in to stop drunks urinating in Soho streets.

Westminster City Council is considering using the paint that will “give inconsiderate visitors a nasty surprise” and splash them back.

Residents have for years put up with public urination, sometimes through their own letterboxes, and one said this week Soho had become an “al fresco loo”.

The council said it is considering the unusual measure to deter people from using the area as a toilet.

Soho Society chairman Tim Lord said: “I think for those residents, whose houses do get urinated on, it’s sort of a bit of payback. There are hundreds of drunk people who meet at pubs in Soho.

“It’s extraordinary we don’t have more public toilets in Soho.

Tim Lord: ‘It’s… a bit of a payback’

“On Houston Street residents just get people urinating on their doors. It’s awful.”

In 2021 Robin Smith, who runs Soho Dairy in Berwick Street Market, had to wash down the street near his stall every morning because of human faeces on the road.

He said: “Every morning you have to stand in a puddle of p***. The stench is all around you.

“We get used to it in summer because it’s become so normal. It’s unfortunate to the extreme. It’s an al fresco loo.”

The council is spending £20,000 on toilets in Soho to try to keep the West End clean, according to the Soho Society.

City council deputy leader Cllr Aicha Less said: “Residents and businesses are fed up. We’re taking action to stop people using alleyways or doorways as a toilet.

Aicha Less: ‘Some would say it’s karma’

“Splashback paint gives inconsiderate visitors a nasty surprise.

“Some would say it’s karma, it’s certainly a deterrent. The ingenious paint is one of a number of steps we are taking to discourage people from relieving themselves in public or on private property.

“With more people enjoying Soho and the West End in the lead-up to Christmas, we are also installing urinals and Portaloos across the West End from Thursday to Monday.

“If people are caught short after a night out, I encourage visitors to use the public toilets around Soho and Westminster instead of using alleyways or side streets.

“Opening hours and locations for public toilets can be found on our website.

“People caught peeing inconsiderately face a fine of up to £100.”