Summer storms made beaches dirtier

LONDON (Reuters) - Last year's stormy summer led to a record drop in the cleanliness of beaches with bathing water becoming more polluted, a report by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said on Friday.

The number of beaches recommended by the MCS for excellent water quality fell by 10 percent, the biggest-year-on-year fall since the organisation brought out its Good Beach Guide.

Only 443 (57 percent) out of 778 beaches that were tested received the top mark, compared to 495 last year. Meanwhile the number of beaches failing to reach the minimum standard more than tripled from 17 to 53.

"These latest MCS results buck the long-term trend of cleaner bathing water but we're pinning the blame squarely on last summer's exceptionally bad weather," said Thomas Bell, MCS Coastal Pollution Officer.

"Heavy rain sweeps pollutants like raw sewage, street debris and animal waste directly from the land into rivers and the sea."

Last year saw the wettest early summer in more than 200 years, with vast swathes of the country flooded.

The report said beaches in southwest England were the cleanest, with 72 percent of the 192 tested given the recommended rating.

Those in northwest England were the dirtiest, with only 21 percent, seven of the 33 tested, recommended.

The MCS said it had warned last May that climate change forecasts of more severe summer storms meant that pollution is likely to get worse around Britain's coast.