Injuries Direct - Personal Injury Claims

A jogger has been offered a compensation claim payout after being locked in a public loo for 17 hours.

The man, who so far has remained unnamed, was locked in the building on Christmas Eve by an employee of Southwark Council, who failed to check if it was empty. He was out without his mobile phone and therefore unable to get out or contact anyone to come and rescue him.

As a result he was left in the freezing cold building overnight; forced to wrap himself in bin bags and toilet roll and sit under the bathroom’s hand dryer to keep him warm.

The man wasn’t released until 10am on Christmas Day morning, meaning he was unable to spend the night or morning with his family or contact them to let them know where he was or that he was OK.

The worker who failed to check the toilets before locking them has since been relieved of his duties from the council after his temporary contract ran out.

A complaint and a compensation claim were made against Southwark Council after the man was let out and a sum was agreed out of court.

A spokesperson for the council said: “I’m very, very sorry about this incident and would like to offer my sincere apologies to the man involved, and I can confirm that the council has offered compensation. This is the first time anyone has been locked in the toilets and we do not envisage that it will ever happen again.”