Maxonians reluctant to ‘spend a penny’ in a public toilet have actually paid a whopping £26.84 each time it was used.

Cheshire East Council has pulled the plug on its pay-per-use toilet in Waters Green, Macclesfield, after an audit revealed the loo, which costs users 20p a go, was ‘significantly underused’.

Contractors JC Decaux charged the council £17,100 for the service, which was used by just 637 people between August 2008 and July 2009, at an average cost to taxpayers of £26.84 per visit.

Town councillor Stephen Broadhurst said it was ‘disgraceful’ taxpayers were flushing their money away on such a hefty bill in the first place.

"It’s great for the saving but why wasn’t this spotted before? How long have we been spending £17,000 on a public toilet? That is disgraceful," he said.

"That toilet has been there for 25 years at least. We need a public service, I wouldn’t like to cross my legs all the way to Churchill Way, but I think those figures are seriously wrong."

Set to scrap the automated public convenience (APC) by the end of the week, the council intends to step up the quality of the free public toilets at Churchill Way and Park Green and save more than £17,000.

Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, said: "Closing the underused automated toilet facility will save the local authority many thousands of pounds that can be spent more effectively on other council services for the public."

Gareth Edwards, the council’s streetscape manager, added: "The use of the APC facility was very light. The closure decision was made on the grounds of efficiency and value for money."

Bollington, Disley, Poynton, Handforth and Alderley Edge will all keep their APCs.

The most popular loo is in West Street, Alderley Edge, which was used on 4,280 separate occasions, £3.99 per use.

The Wilmslow facility in Bank Square will also be removed due to its underuse.

Stockport Metropolitan Borough council runs a ‘Community Toilet Scheme’ – an arrangement between retailers and businesses to offer facilities free of charge.

CEC refused to comment on whether this was an option at this time. JC Decaux also refused to comment.