North-East beaches amongst worst in England for swimming water - but one Hartlepool beach is praised

Dorset, Devon and Suffolk take the three top places in the study, created by UK travel site Holiday Park Guru, which analysed Environment Agency data from hundreds of beaches.

Overall, County Durham, in which Hartlepool is classed, ranks 17th out of 19 English seaside counties with just one of its official bathing spots rated as “excellent” for water cleanliness in summer.

It's not all bad news though - water quality tests at Seaton Carew North Gare produced a coveted three star rating for cleanliness.

The nation's 13 dirtiest beaches have been offered Brown Flag Awards - including Blackpool (Blackpool North Beach), Weston Super Mare (Weston Main Beach) and Bognor Regis (Aldwick).

The “winners” are being offered complimentary brown flags featuring a poo emoji to display for swimmers. These beaches are rated as “poor” by the Environment Agency due to bacteria such as e-coli from sewage and other waste.

The positive news for County Durham is that none of its beaches have won a Brown Flag Award for 2024.

Lancashire came bottom in the league table while Somerset and Yorkshire are both in the bottom half.

The Isle of Wight, Lincolnshire and Northumberland performed well, with all of their designated bathing areas gaining one of the top two ratings (“good” or “excellent”).

Keen sea-swimmer, Robbie Lane from Holiday Park Guru said:

“We’re hoping to make a real splash in the papers with the launch of England’s first ever 'Brown Flag Awards'! Commiserations to our 13 winners this year – you really are top of the plops. We just hope they’ll take up our offer of a free brown flag, although I’m afraid we can’t quite afford to provide a flagpole as well.”

“On a more positive note, high praise is warranted for England's 273 beaches with the top rating for their water quality - including Seaton Carew North Gare. You can find a full list of all the three star swimming spots at Holiday Park Guru. With a bit of research, there's a good chance you will be the only thing floating in the sea this summer."

It is worth noting that the Environment Agency only includes water quality readings from May 15 to September 30 when giving ratings to bathing areas.

Sea water quality tends to be worse in winter after heavy rain.

The Brown Flag Awards Winners 2024

The Brown Flag Awards are reserved for those select beaches which score a “poor” rating from the Environment Agency’s water quality tests:

1. Porthluney in Cornwall; 2. Southsea East in Hampshire; 3. Saint Mary’s Bay in Kent; 4. Littlestone in Kent; 5. Blackpool North in Lancashire; 6. St Annes North in Lancashire; 7. Heacham in Norfolk; 8. Weston Main, Weston Super Mare Sand Bay and Weston Super Mare Uphill Slipway in Somerset; 9. Dunster Beach in Somerset; 10. Bognor Regis, Aldwick in Sussex; 11. Tynemouth Cullercoats in Tyne and Wear; 12. Scarborough South Bay in North Yorkshire; 13. Bridlington South Beach in East Riding of Yorkshire.

Weston Super Mare’s three water quality reading locations all rated poor but they have just been awarded one Brown Flag Award.

County by county league table for clean beaches

For the 2024 county league table Holiday Park Guru analysed data at every designated bathing beach in England. The study looked at the percentage of beaches in each county that achieved the Environment Agency’s top rating for water cleanliness (three stars = “excellent”).

Percentage of beaches rated “excellent” by the Environment Agency for sea water cleanliness. From best to worst:

1. Dorset: 89%; 2. Devon: 86%; 3. Suffolk: 83%; 4. Cornwall: 81%; 5. Tyne and Wear: 78%; 6. Northumberland: 77%; 7. Lincolnshire: 77%; 8. Hampshire and New Forest: 75%; 9. Isle of Wight: 73%; 10. Merseyside: 57%; 11. Essex: 53%; 12. Sussex: 52%; 13. Cumbria: 50%; 14. Norfolk: 50%; 15. Kent: 45%; 16. Yorkshire: 40%; 17. County Durham: 16%; 18. Somerset: 10%; 19. Lancashire 0%.

(Some counties have been combined for the table, such as East and West Sussex)