ONE beach in south Cumbria has been judged as excellent in the most recent tests of bacterial levels.

Silecroft, as well as St Bees, has been judged to be excellent - the highest and the required standard to qualify for Blue Flag status. Allonby and Seascale are good; while Haverigg, Allonby South and Silloth have been classified as sufficient.

On Walney, West Shore, Sandy Gap and Biggar Bank were all judged to be sufficient.

Beaches are judged to be either excellent, good, sufficient or poor. In the latest samples, none were deemed to be poor in Cumbria, meaning all beaches are safe for swimming.

The quality of seawater around the coast of Cumbria has been tested for bacteria levels as government officials rank beaches based on their safety.

For the second year in a row the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published statistics that reveal all 27 of the North West’s coastal bathing beaches meet the government’s required standards for water quality.

Samples were taken between May and September this year in order to test the quality of the water at beaches across the county.

The classifications are based on the level of bacteria in the water.

The latest classifications have been welcomed by the Turning Tides Partnership, a joint campaign to reduce pollution and improve water quality in the North West, made up of partners including the Environment Agency, United Utilities and local authorities.

Keith Ashcroft, Environment Agency area director for Cumbria and Lancashire said: “We should be very proud of the continued improvement in the cleanliness of our North West bathing waters.

"The improvements come as a result of major investment in how our waste water is managed and the efforts of our Turning Tides partners.

"We will continue to work to ensure bathing waters are maintained and improved further so our beaches and seas can be enjoyed by both residents and visitors.”