Andy Townsend criticises walker over pub toilet use

Former footballer Andy Townsend has criticised a walker for entering a pub, using the toilet and leaving without buying a drink.

In a late-night television discussion, Townsend described seeing a walker come into a pub wearing boots and shorts. He said the man looked around, went straight into the toilet, came out and left. Townsend said the pub had only one gents' toilet and one ladies' toilet. He asked why the walker did not buy a half lager, a coke or a bottle of water to acknowledge that the pub had saved his life.

The story was discussed in a light-hearted segment that weighed whether Townsend had a point. The presenters said they generally buy a drink when using a pub toilet, but they also raised possible exceptions, such as illness or being part of a walking group. One presenter said they had once been stopped on the way to the toilet in a Wetherspoons and told to buy something first. Another said the issue was often about the principle rather than the money.

The discussion also touched on the difference between large chain pubs and small locals with only two toilets. The presenters said that if someone asks at the bar to buy a drink so they can use the bathroom, staff often say they can just use it. They joked about pub toilets, personal habits and ageing, but the core point was whether walkers and other visitors should buy something when using a pub's facilities.

No response from the walker or the pub has been reported.