THREE public toilets have been saved from closure after the council received extra funding to maintain them.

Plans to shut the facilities, in Horns Road, in Gants Hill, Wangey Road in Chadwell Heath and Chapel Way in Ilford, were due to be discussed at a cabinet meeting last night (Monday) but the item was withdrawn after the East London Waste Authority stepped in to meet the costs.

The news will come as a relief to the hundreds of people who use the toilets - with the Chapel Way loo alone visited 1,200 times a week.

The council had estimated the annual savings from the closures to reach up to £269,000 by 2013.