First there was the custard shortage...now the Whitstable Times reveals the great bog roll theft

From the paper that brought you the classic 'Whitstable Mum in Custard Shortage'... now the Whitstable Times is reporting on the great bog roll theft mystery.

The Times reports: "VOLUNTEERS at a community centre are getting bogged down with the theft of toilet rolls from their building. As many as 15 rolls are being taken from Whitstable Umbrella Centre each week."

According to the Times, "Staff lifted the lid on the losses in the hope of sniffing out the culprits and persuading them to stop. Otherwise, they warn, they will have to lock their loos."

Centre manager Rob Isted tells the Times: "If it's about 20p a roll and we're losing 12 to 15 rolls a week, that's about £150 a year."

A glum looking Isted is pictured at the scene of the crime pointing at an empty bog roll holder.

The Times' custard shortage tale became a sensation in the local newspaper industry and even inspired a book - 'Whitstable Mum in Custard Shortage . . . And Other World Exclusives from Britain's Finest Local Newspapers'

But my man in Kent says the Whitstable Times is facing fierce competition from stablemate the Folkestone Herald which last year revealed the scandal of the 'public loo lightbulb left on for a decade' and the 'three days out of date pasty'.

It's all happening down in Kent.