A trip to the beach in the UK today is now the healthiest time to go for 250 YEARS. They are now the cleanest our coastal areas have been since before he industrial revolution began.
The EA (Environmental Agency) carried out a series of tests on UK beaches and discovered that almost 94 per cent of bathing beaches and lakes have the highest cleanliness ratings. Shockingly, back in 1990 only 28 per cent of these places were at the highest safety levels.
The annual tests also revealed 98.5 per cent of the 413 beaches tested met the minimum level – the best results on record.
This is great news for holidaymakers as the number of “staycations” have risen in the past few years, due to fears of terrorism and now the weak pound. Almost 14 million people decided that UK destinations were going to be their holiday choice in 2015
Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said: “England’s bathing waters are enjoyed by millions of people every year, which is why I am delighted the water quality at our beaches and lakes is better than at any time since before the Industrial Revolution.
“This year more than 93 per cent of bathing waters were rated excellent and good, but we’re not complacent – we’ll keep working to improve our environment and make sure it’s protected for future generations.”
Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said: “Water quality at beaches has improved again this year, 98.5 per cent passed the standards and 69.5 per cent met the highest rating of Excellent.
“The Environment Agency has led successful work to protect people, tourism and the environment.
“We will continue to ensure bathing waters are maintained and improved further, so we need partners and the public to work with us to reduce pollution.”