The dirtiest toilet ever seen has to be the one in Danny Boyle's heroin addiction drama Trainspotting (1996). The toilet, found in a Scottish dive, is horrendous and never fails to turn the stomach of even the most stoic of film enthusiasts.

Yet, photographs this newspaper received from the Hal Far Open Centre on Monday give it a good run for its money. But what is the cause?

Let us put it all into context. Residents of the Hal Far Centre organized a peaceful protest on the same day, expressing that conditions within the centre were not good enough. They said it is dirty, untidy and that 11 toilets and 11 showers are not adequate to serve the needs of 600 people. We agree. We also agree with them when they say that people sometimes do not listen to their concerns and problems, expecting them to put up with such conditions.

But that is where it ends. This newspaper’s newsroom has had the opportunity to go into both the closed and the open centres to see conditions for themselves.

The truth be told, rather than everything being basic, it is more like everything is industrial strength. Why? People may ask.

One would not believe it unless they saw it with their own eyes, but residents at the centre will attempt to cannibalise everything they see, even down to a water heater filament, so they can make their own hot water.

On the whole, there is no sense of collective responsibility in these centres. The budget is what it is. More should be spent, we believe, but no one can work miracles either.

Let us go back to the issue of the lavatory. On Monday, this newspaper obtained images of the inside of the centre, taken by migrants themselves and to be frank, their stunt backfired.

We received one image of a portable toilet stuffed with 1-litre plastic bottles. There was human excrement in the mix too. It was too disgusting for publication.

It does not take a genius to put two and two together to figure out that the toilets had been jammed by residents themselves. Again, we are sure that it is not everyone that engages in such behaviour. However, others have a responsibility to report those who do such things.

It does not take a genius to put two and two together to figure out that the toilets were jammed by residents themselves. Again, we are sure that it is not everyone that engages in such behaviour. But others have a responsibility to report those who do such things.

Photographs of the sleeping quarters were also quite shocking, with litter and detritus strewn everywhere.

We reiterate - more should be done to improve living conditions within the centres, but equally, the residents have a responsibility. People do not fester in their own rubbish in developed countries; it is taboo and regarded as being disgusting.

We simply cannot have a situation where residents are calling for people's heads because conditions are not good enough, yet they jam their own toilets and dump their rubbish (or worse still leave it lying around). We cannot stand for having people say that they are afraid they will contract a disease, while they are the same people that contribute towards the mess.

Also, this newspaper will not stand for residents telling co-ordinators that they have ‘stupid ideas’ - when those stupid ideas include setting up an access gate to prevent abuse.

Not allowing people to hang their washing wherever they like on fences overlook the main road is also not a ‘stupid idea’. Not slaughtering animals or butchering meat in the courtyard is also not a ‘stupid idea’. The residents have some very valid arguments, but they are shooting themselves in the foot with their own behaviour. Jamming portable toilets with plastic bottles, breaking sinks and living the way they do is not acceptable. It is not likely to lead to more money being spent on the centres either. Yes, there are three sides to every story. One side, the other side and the truth.