LORRY drivers are leaving the job and even becoming ill because of a shameful lack of toilet facilities they can use during work, according to new research by trade union Unite. 

One in 10 of the 1,700 drivers surveyed said a lack of toilets on the roads resulted in them developing a medical condition, according to the research released today. 

The majority said they had needed to urgently use the toilet in the past year but none were available.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These figures are shameful. They demonstrate that not only are lorry drivers routinely denied access to decent clean toilets but problems are getting worse.

“Toilet dignity is a fundamental union demand — no worker should be routinely denied access to a clean toilet. Unite has a zero-tolerance approach to any employer denying workers toilet dignity.”

Two in five lorry drivers questioned said that since the Covid pandemic began, access to toilets had worsened.

Unite national officer Adrian Jones warned that the industry will never become more attractive to new entrants unless toilet dignity becomes mandatory.