Three Welsh beaches lose Blue Flag status

Whitmore Bay in Barry was stripped of its title

Three Welsh beaches have lost their Blue Flags at the annual coast awards.

Aberdaron Beach and Tywyn beach in Gwynedd, along with Whitmore Bay in Barry, have been stripped of their prestigious status.

Keep Wales Tidy said the decision was made due to the beaches' water quality.

Meanwhile, 40 beaches across Wales have been awarded 44 Blue Flags, meaning the country still has more per mile than anywhere else in the UK.

Nia Lloyd, from Keep Wales Tidy, said: "It's always disappointing to hear when sites lose their status, but I want to stress to the public that the water quality is still great there, it's just dropped from excellent."

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She said it was not that uncommon for a status to change between good and excellent.

"It can range from year to year - some sites lose, some sites gain, it's all to do with water quality for these ones," she said.

Ms Lloyd also pointed out plastic pollution was a huge problem along the coast.

"We know that 80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources, so people have the responsibility before it even ends up on the beach," she said.

"There's a range of ways that we can stop that and we hope to continue the fight against plastic pollution."