Village Commissioners have issued a formal disclaimer over the comments made by one of its members.

Onchan commissioner David Quirk was widely quoted in the media after public toilets were vandalised.

But his comments, which included criticism of the apparent lack of police in the village, prompted Onchan District Commissioners to pay for a formal notice to appear in last week’s Manx Independent.

Under the heading ’Disclaimer’, the notice read: ’Onchan District Commissioners would like to clarify that the views and opinions expressed by Mr DJ Quirk in relation to the vandalism to the newly refurbished toilets in Onchan Park and other items are made in a personal capacity and do not represent the policy or agreed statements of the authority or board.’

It said the authority did not accept responsibility for the ’accuracy or reliability’ of what Mr Quirk had said to the media.

And it said any member of media seeking to obtain an interview or formal comment from the authority should first contact the clerk or chairman.

In fact, the articles that appeared in the media did include a comment from Onchan Commissioners’ chairman Derek Crellin - and in any event, reporters are quite entitled to contact elected local politicians directly.

The newly refurbished toilets in Onchan Park were targeted by vandals over the Easter bank holiday weekend.

A number of new soap dispensers were smashed off the walls and the contents strewn all over the floor during the incident.

It was the latest case of anti-social behaviour in the village, with hundreds of pounds worth of damage caused to the football club’s toilets in February.

Mr Quirk told reporters that more needs to be done to clamp down on these incidents.

He said he felt there needs to be more bobbies on the beat to discourage anti-social behaviour, saying: ’I can’t remember the last time I saw a police officer in Onchan.’

He added: ’The Commissioners offices are not used at night and it’s a thing now that people like to hot desk.

’That would’ve been an opportunity for police to have a base in Onchan, and for them to wander round to meet different parts of the community; whether that’s the younger or elder part of the community - just to give us some comfort all the time.’

In a statement about the vandalism on the Onchan Commissioner’s website, chairman Derek Crellin described the damage as ’disappointing’.

The statement said the police presence in the village has increased including foot patrols and visits to youth facilities. It said a space within the Commissioners’ Office at Hawthorn Villa for police officers to use was due to be completed this month.