DOZENS of villagers have twinned their "smallest room" with overseas loos in a bid to flush away poverty.

Sixty toilets in homes, businesses, churches and community buildings across Silverdale have now been paired with latrines as far afield as Afghanistan, Congo, Honduras, Cambodia, Malawi, and Liberia.

To mark her 60th birthday, school teacher Lynn Peck, of Silverdale, set herself the challenge of asking for 60 donations of £60 from potential toilet-twinners in her village.

Silverdale pub The Royal helped to spark a chain reaction by giving three donations. Drinkers and diners at the inn, owned by Michael Holgate, can now see framed pictures of The Royal's toilet twins in Rwanda.

Lynn, who moved to north Lancashire from Manchester five years ago with husband Robert, praised the support she received as "phenomenal".

"The idea of helping desperately poor people have access to a proper toilet and clean water very quickly captured the imaginations of people in the village," said Lynn.

"Bad sanitation is one of the world's biggest killers, and more than three billion people across the globe don't have a safe place to go to the toilet.

"It hits children, the elderly, and sick people the hardest – and there are special risks for women in Africa who are at risk of assault or being bitten by snakes in the open."

She added: "It's amazing to think that there are now 60 small rooms in Silverdale dedicated to tackling this problem, and donors are still coming forward."

The £60 donation helps people in desperate poverty have access to a proper latrine, clean water and the information they need to be healthy.

Toilet-twinners are given a certificate complete with colour photo and GPS coordinates so they can look up your twin on Google Maps.

So successful has the Silverdale "revo-loo-tion" been, it could now gain Toilet Twinned Village status.

For more, visit www.toilettwinning.org