There are many things we take for granted in the western world – and flushing the toilet is certainly one of them.

And yet for nearly 40 per cent of the world's population that basic requirement is denied them – which leads to millions of premature deaths.

This is the sort of global issue that, because of its sensitive nature, really does make a lot of local people think.

But how do you get that message to these people?

How, in short, do you get people talking about something most of us prefer never to talk about?

Faced with this problem, Freshford-based charity Wherever the Need came up with a fantastic idea – and like all the best charity initiatives it is an incredibly simple one.

The charity contacted a host of celebrities from royalty and sport to fashion and politics and invited them to decorate a basic male and female toilet sign with their own individual touch.

In addition they asked local artists and Bath schoolchildren to join in the fun with a view to auctioning off all the signs returned to them.

The result is highly impressive.

Over the next two weeks, around the city, local people will have the chance to see the designs by, for example, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, fashion model Lily Cole and Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh. Mr Branagh decorated his male toilet sign with the words 'to pee or not to pee – that is the question' and there are many other examples of humour among the designs

To add a further level of interest to the scheme, the charity has placed the toilet signs throughout the city to create a unique art trail which will be up and running until February 28.

People are urged to follow the trail and if you see all the signs you can then enter a competition to win that most fitting of prizes – a year's supply of loo roll.

This is a classic example of a charity realising that to get noticed in an occasionally compassion-weary world you have to think of new and imaginative methods.

So we wish Wherever the Need every success. It is an important cause and they have found an excellent way to highlight it.