A TELEVISION company has been asked to cough up for new public toilets in Goathland, home of TV's Heartbeat series.

As numbers of visitors to the picturesque North Yorkshire village continue to rise, so has the strain on local conveniences, and the parish council recently decided to build a new toilet block to cope with numbers.

But the authority, which has only limited resources, cannot afford the expense and has approached Yorkshire Television, makers of the hit show, for a contribution.

Councillors have also asked the North York Moors National Park Authority to pay for the block's maintenance.

This request is expected to be agreed to at a meeting on Thursday.

Recent figures show that the number of visitors to Goathland have mushroomed since the village achieved national and international fame, up from 250,000 a year to more than 1.5 million.

And it is not just the public conveniences that are being swamped: parking is also a problem.

At a recent public meeting, villagers successfully opposed a plan to create a new public car park near the church.

The new toilet block, designed by Northern Electric, will be an extension to an existing electrical substation at the southern edge of the village.

A recent survey of residents found that 60 per cent felt more public conveniences were needed at that end of the village.

The North York Moors National Parks Authority agreed in March to contribute £4,000 towards the cost of the project.

But because of the parish council's approach to the television company, the parks authority believes it will no longer need to put up its own cash.

A Yorkshire Television spokesman said the company, which starts filming the tenth series of Heartbeat this year, was in discussion with Goathland Parish Council, but declined to comment further.