The toilets, which are near Hayling seafront, were closed at the end of April. Havant Borough Council blamed the age of the block and its low usage.

A notice on the door told the public to "please use facilities at Nab car park" – advice which would have been meaningless to most tourists.

The nearest public toilets are in the council car park at the end of Creek Road (near the former Nab Club), which is about half-a-mile from Bosmere Road.

But the council has received so many complaints both from visitors and from local residents, it has now decided to reopen the toilets "for the continuation of the summer season."

Among the protesters was Bosmere Road resident Bob Benham, who takes a daily walk through the area.

He was appalled to see members of the public relieving themselves on the grass verge next to the toilet block and also on the beach, after finding the toilet block closed.

Some of those affected had been visiting Sandy Point for 20 years or more from other parts of the country, and were "astounded" to find the toilets closed.

Mr Benham added: "There are now no toilet facilities from opposite Creek Road to Hayling Island Sailing Club and many people, even in the winter, walk from Eastoke Corner to the RNLI station and beyond.

"The Bosmere Road toilets were used daily by trades people and bus drivers, as well as the general public.

"Havant Council are supposed to be promoting tourism on the Island – as we saw on the front page of last month's Hayling Islander – but this appears to stop at Eastoke Corner.

"It excludes the Sandy Point area, where a large number of caravan parks exist and where many weekend visitors head.

It is also very popular with "twitchers" and young families, especially during the summer period.

"Something has to be done. Who made the decision to close the facilities and on what basis? Did anyone consider the consequences?"

Mr Benham also said out that there were no signposts directing people to the Bosmere Road toilets. He believes that usage would be higher if they were clearly marked, for the benefit of visitors.

Havant Borough Council's communications officer Sally Foster said: "A decision had been made to close this facility following a user counter on the main entrance to the toilets. This took place between June 2006 and September 2007.

"The results showed these toilets had low usage, so with that in mind together with the age of the facilities, on-going costs, maintenance etc following a review on all toilet facilities in the area, closure was decided upon.

"An attempt was made to salvage some of the equipment from these toilets that could be used elsewhere."

She added that Hayling East Cllr David Collins, the borough's portfolio holder for the environment, had received a number of complaints from the public and tourists demanding they remained open.

The salvage work had not progressed sufficiently to prevent them being brought back into use as quickly as possible after being inspected and cleaned, she said.

"After careful consideration, a request was made by Cllr Collins to re-open the toilets in Bosmere Road, for the continuation of the summer season," she added.