Cameras put in in Wetherspoon bogs for one cause – drinkers are livid
Punters have been left raging after spotting cameras in the toilets of a JD Wetherspoon pub.
The Fire Station pub in the seaside town of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, has been at the centre of controversy after the cameras were installed to tackle repeated incidents of property damage. Drinkers at the pub, however, have been left citing concerns over their privacy.
Reports claim one of the cameras has an ariel view over the men’s urials, although this is a point disputed by a spokesperson for Wetherspoons. A second, meanwhile, looks over the sinks in the women’s toilet. According to MailOnline, one customer has said that the toilets have been smashed up four times in the last year alone.
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Conversely, other punters have reported a reluctance to use the toilets because of the presence of the camera.
(Image: jdwetherspoon.com)
Wetherspoons, meanwhile, said it had taken the decision to install the camera in the interest of the “safety of staff and customers”.
The same outlet reports that 51-year-old childminder Tracy Campbell, said: “I didn’t realise they had cameras in the toilets. They shouldn’t be allowed to do that. It’s an invasion of privacy.
“I don’t go to the toilets that often anyway because they are upstairs. I probably won’t use them at all now. I will be texting all my friends to let them know. You don’t know who’s looking at the footage.”
(Image: J D Wetherspoons)
A second pubgoer, Martha Proud, 39, said: “I would say it’s an invasion of privacy. It would definitely put me off going to the toilet if I was in Wetherspoon’s.”
She added that the measure was “worrying”.
Pamela Watson, 71, took a different approach saying: “You can’t blame them for doing this. I think it’s a good thing. The toilets have been smashed up four times in the last year.”
(Image: Google)
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “CCTV covering the communal sink areas only of both the male and female toilets of the pub are in place. The cameras do not cover the urinals or cubicles. The decision to install the cameras was taken to promote customer and staff safety.
“It augments the existing CCTV system in the rest of the pub which is in place for the same reason. Signage alerting customers to the cameras is in place in both sets of toilets.”
The Daily Star has contacted JD Wetherspoon for further comment.
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