Tracey Emin says she finds herself "begging" to use toilets in shops due to a lack of public loos in Margate.

A number of facilities in the town have been closed while repair works are being carried out.

Thanet District Council (TDC) has put some portable loos in place - which will remain until late September.

But Ms Emin, who battled bladder cancer during lockdown and now has a urostomy bag, is calling for public toilets across the town to be improved.

The world-famous artist says she has been "appalled" to see human excrement on the beach and along the sea wall.

TDC says while there are ongoing repairs to the facilities at Buenos Ayres and the Harbour Arm, the women's toilets at The Centre are currently closed due to fire damage.

Ms Emin told KentOnline: "For myself, who has a disability of having a urostomy bag, I often find myself begging and showing my disability card to use toilets in shops.

"I can just about cope though because I live in Margate, but I wonder how it is for all the people who come to visit Margate, the children on the beach, the older people, people with disabilities.

"It’s pretty appalling to see human excretion on the beach or along the sea wall.

"Especially sad when there are a lot of public toilets that have just been left to go into disrepair.

"As a citizen of Margate, and I am sure many small businesses will greatly benefit from the regeneration of public loos, the first ones being by the clock tower."

Thanet District Council hopes the repairs to the public toilets will be completed ahead of the summer season.

"The number of public toilets in Margate has been impacted by ongoing repairs to the facilities at Buenos Ayres and the Harbour Arm," TDC said in a statement.

"In addition, the women’s toilets at The Centre are currently closed as a result of fire damage.

"In response we have installed four temporary toilets at Marine Terrace, three unisex and one for disabled users, and a further two near Droit House.

"We anticipate that the repairs to the public toilets will be completed ahead of the peak summer season."

TDC says while the women’s toilets at The Centre are temporarily closed, the nearest alternative public facilities are located at College Walk Shopping Mall.

"Additional seasonal temporary toilets will be in place at Botany Bay from the end of March," the council adds.

"The temporary toilets will be opened and cleaned in line with our standard toilet management schedule. They will all remain in place until late-September."

Ms Emin previously told how medics feared she could die after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer.

She has spoken about living with a urostomy bag and the "debilitating" after-effects of the disease, which act as a reminder of her scrape with death.