August 7th 2023.
It's summer and many of us are itching to get to the beach, but it's important to know what you're getting yourself into. Recent news of athletes in Sunderland suffering from sickness and diarrhoea after taking a dip off the coast has put a spotlight on water quality in the UK.
To help you know which areas to watch out for, Metro has created a map of the top 10 most-polluted beaches in the UK. We consulted bathing water alerts from official organizations in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, along with the monitoring map from the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage.
The list, in no particular order, includes Severn Mouth, Blackpool, Newcastle, Scarborough, the Wash, Clacton-on-Sea, Folkestone, Irvine, Lundin Links, and Bangor. In England, at least seven areas have coastal spots where swimming is not advised. These areas are Weston-super-Mare and Burnham-on-Sea, both located at the mouth of the Severn river, Blackpool North, South and Central, and Cullercoats in Newcastle.
Scarborough South Bay and North Bay have also been flagged, as have Hunstanton beach and Heacham in the Wash. Clacton-on-Sea and Frinton-on-Sea in east Essex have warnings from both SAS and Swimfo, and Folkestone in Kent has had sewage discharge in the past two days.
In Scotland, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has given Irvine a 'poor' forecast for its bathing water, while Lundin Links and Kinghorn both have the lowest Sepa classification of 'poor'. Lastly, Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has warned against bathing at Ballyholme and Crawfordsburn in North County Down, both of which are in the Bangor area.
So, before you head off to the beach this summer, make sure you do your research and check out the water quality alerts to determine whether you'll be safe in the water or not.
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