AN Abergavenny mum has made it her mission to do battle with what she perceives as the less then hygienic state of many public toilets.

Author and researcher, Claire Barrand, began her campaign after daughter, Maisie, who had suffered from epilepsy since birth, began suffering from anxiety and OCD which manifested itself in a deep fear of germs - leading her to develop an aversion to any toilet other than her own.

In addition, Claire’s youngest daughter, Poppy was diagnosed with autism while just five and also found using public toilets difficult.

Following an incident in 2015 where Maisie had a fit at home in the bathroom, Clair speculated on how much worse it might have been if it had happened in an unsanitary public loo.

At an evening out in a local pub a few days later, Claire visited the toilet and saw, as if for the first time, just how bad the problem was.

She stated, ‘I went to the loo and was horrified at what I saw; the sanitary bin was overflowing, the remnants of a Chinese takeaway were scattered everywhere and the toilet seat was stained yellow.’

Claire produced a bottle of disinfectant and began to clean up the mess. She uploaded her work on a video and was shocked the next morning to see just how many likes and shares her work had generated.

‘I had contacts from people undergoing chemotherapy and those with compromised autoimmune systems stating how much they feared having to use filthy public toilets.’

Now Claire, aware of the scale of the problem, has set up an Instagram account and within days several major players in the world of cleaning began to follow her.

She began tagging companies whose facilities she had felt compelled to clean. Now, with more than 13,000 followers, Claire’s account @sisterpledgecleans is regularly contacted by people equally fed up with the lax standards of firms who, she says, really have no excuse.

She said, ‘Late last year, I launched a petition calling for better standards of hygiene in chain restaurants and stores. I’ve approached the local council and the British Toilet Association, who say they will back my campaign if I get 10,000 signatures, and I’ve already got more than 2,000.’

Claire’s petition can be found at www.thepetitionsite.com