Cleanest beaches in England revealed – as SIX lose their Blue Flag Awards for 2018

BLUE Flag Awards are the mark of a clean beach – and if you’re heading off to the seaside this summer you’ll want to make sure your beach has one.

This year’s Blue Flag Awards have been announced and there are some new contenders on the list of 65, as well as several beaches which have lost their award.

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The South West has the most Blue Flag beaches with 26, while the South East is second with 15 of them.

The awards are considered the gold standard for the coast and are handed out to beaches with clean bathing water.

Other factors for the awards include how safe the beach is, how many lifeguards patrol it and the standard of its toilets.

Maps showing the locations of facilities, available drinking water and whether there is sewage or industrial waste nearby is also taken into consideration.

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Sadly, this year six beaches have lost their Blue Flags.

These are Wallasey, Scarborough, Withensea, Hornsea, Joss Bay and Porthminister.

Here’s the full list of winners for this year.

East Midlands - four winners

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The East Midlands has four winning beaches to its name.

The Lincolnshire coast runs for 50 miles down the North Sea coast of England and is filled with golden sandy beaches.

Ingoldmells South beach, above, has fish and chip shops and bars as well as nearby Fastasy Island, an amusement park if you want to make a weekend of it.

East of England - 12 winners

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The East of England, including Essex and Norfolk, has a huge 12 beaches on the Blue Flag list.

Norfolk has six beaches on the list, Southend council has three - East Beach Shoeburyness, Shoebury Common and Thorpe Bay.

Cromer, pictured, has a Grade II listed pier - that was featured in 2013's Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

North East - six winners

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The North East is home to six different Blue Flag beaches, including Tynemouth Longsands, pictured above.

It has a mile of golden sandy beach as well as rocks and dunes to explore.

It's also an excellent place to surf - and is just ten minutes' walk from Tynemouth Metro station.

North West - one winner

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Blackpool South is the one Blue Flag beach in the North West category.

The beach gained its Blue Flag in 2016 and has hung onto it due to its cleanliness and amenities.

Close by to the famous Pleasure Beach, it has "excellent" grade sea water as well as golden sands.

Yorkshire - one winner

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Whitby is the one Blue Flag beach in Yorkshire - and is famously where Dracula is set.

The beach is a good spot for activities like windsurfing, sailing and surfing.

It's also lined with colourful beach huts and has a pier which you can go fishing from.

South East - 15 winners

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Brighton may be vast and busy - but it is also surprisingly clean and is one of the South East's Blue Flag Beaches.

It's not just about the beach with Brighton, though you'd be hard pressed to tear yourself away.

The town also has vintage shops, bars and restaurants - although you can't beat fish and chips on the pebble beach on a summer's day.

South West - 26 winners

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Not to be confused with the Blackpool of the north, this haven in South Devon is surrounded by scented pines and evergreen trees.

It's on the South West Coast Path and is a good place to begin or end the trail.

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Many people head here for water sports, including kayaking and canoeing.

The beach has had a Blue Flag Award since 2016 after years of environmental work to clean it up and bring it up to the standard it now maintains.

Sun Online Travel previously revealed the most budget-friendly seaside towns in the UK to head to for a holiday - based on the cost of basics when you're there.

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