Flash squat at the seat of power

When you gotta go, you gotta go... campaigners demonstrate what London would be like if there weren't any toilets.

Credit: EWP / Andy Aitchison

It was bottoms out on the South Bank in London this morning when over 100 people, including WaterAid supporters, marked the end of International Year of Sanitation by squatting in full view of Westminster as part of the End Water Poverty (EWP) Campaign.

Bemused onlookers watched as campaigners flash-squatted for two minutes as Big Ben struck 9.00am, before getting up and leaving behind a fake poo.

Steve Cockburn, the International Campaign Coordinator for EWP said:

"The fact that toilets are at the bottom of politicians' lists, is outrageous when you consider that 5,000 children die every day from lack of basic sanitation. 2008 was the International Year of Sanitation but those in power have yet to take notice. Our flash squat stunt gives a snapshot of what London would be like if we didn't have toilets - something that is a reality for 2.5 billion people across the world."

Bernie Critchley, a WaterAid campaigner from London, said:

"You don't start many days squatting in the middle of the South Bank, with a loo roll and the paper, pretending to do a poo with so many other people! I hope this makes people realise that this is the reality for over 2.5 billion people worldwide who have no safe place to go to the toilet and gets people and politicians talking about toilets."

Every year, 1.8 million children die as a result of disease caused by poor sanitation and unclean water, the equivalent of one child every 20 seconds.

A recent WaterAid report highlighted sanitation as probably the biggest cause of death for children under five in the developing world.

So, in 2009, WaterAid along with the End Water Poverty coalition is urging the UK's Prime Minister Gordon Brown to be a sanitation champion. He must talk taps and toilets, ensure action from world leaders and prioritise these fundamental human rights alongside health and education.

The stunt captured the attention of a range of local media including Metro, thelondonpaper, Channel 4, Tiscali, Virgin Media, morningstaronline and londonse1.

	Watch a video of interviews with campaigners at the stunt on the Virgin Media website
	View the photo gallery posted by thelondonpaper on their website