Penryn Town Council has denied having no trained staff to run the town's library after it took over the service with much fanfare at the start of the month.

Town clerk Cas Leo has also denied that the changes mean the public cannot use the toilets in the library, instead insisting that the same policy was in place before the building was taken on.

In a letter to the Packet last week, library user Janet Mitchell said she was "disappointed" to find that the service "seems set on becoming 'not fit for purpose,'" and complained that there were "no trained library staff," just town council workers.

However Mr Leo said "that's not true" and told the Packet library staff came in every day from Cornwall Council and were currently training his staff.

He said: "That's likely to continue until we go out and recruit an extra person. We are actually supported by Cornwall Council library trained staff every day."

He added that as well as the one Cornwall Council employee, three Penryn workers had now also been trained up.

Ms Mitchell had also complained that the higher number of workers at the library, which now houses Penryn Town Council's offices as well since it moved out of Saracen House, meant the public were no longer able to use the toilets, and are instead advised to take "a brisk walk down to the quay and back," to use the public toilets there.

She wrote: "No one should be denied use of toilet facilities in a public place used for study, research and reading."

Mr Leo said that was not a new development, and the facilities had "never been available because it's never been a public toilet," but had been designed to support no more tan five staff.

He added: "We have been advised that if we were to allow the public to use the toilets... we would infringe health and safety. That's not to say if there was a small child ore elderly person in an emergency they wouldn't be able to use the toilet."

he also directed people to the council funded blocks on the quay and at Permarin car park, which are "about 200 yards either side of us."

Mr Leo added: "We're trying to encourage greater use of the library, nobody's been turned away.

"It seems to get more of a flow of people coming through, because we're open more hours. Most people seem pleased."