blue flag

IT'S our pride and joy and now Tynemouth has been added to a superior list of Britain's most beautiful Blue Flag beaches.

Across South Wales, Porthcawl scoops a trio of blue flags thanks to its marina, Trecco Bay and Rest Bay; in the Vale of Glamorgan, Southerndown and Penarth Marina take the top honour.

Around the country, 86 coastal areas have met the high standards needed to receive the Blue Flag, Green Coast Award and Seaside Award - with a total of 102 awards for beaches in the Wales Coast Awards.

Having a blue flag beach right near you could be alls you need this summer in the UK.

This year's biggest Welsh winner was Pembrokeshire, which has achieved a total of 56 Coast Awards including 11 Blue Flags, 14 Green Coast Awards and 31 Seaside Awards.

But Ireland still managed to hit a record high for the quality and cleanliness of coastal waters with a total of 88 Blue Flags to be raised at 81 beaches and seven marinas this summer.

Seaburn and Roker in Sunderland regained their Blue Flags after a four-year wait.

BEACHES in Cyprus were awarded a total of 57 Blue Flags, ranking the island on the top of the EU for ten consecutive years, according to Agriculture and Environment minister Nicos Kouyialis, adding that the awards will greatly aid the tourist industry.

Recognised world-wide as a symbol for coastal excellence, the UAE can now boast of a total of 24 Blue Flags across the emirates.

"The Blue Flag is a highly prestigious and well-recognised symbol and serves to highlight coastal excellence internationally so for the UAE to now have an additional 12 Blue Flags awarded is a real achievement for the country.

Lisa Perry, programmes director at EWS-WWF, said: "Blue Flags are awarded for one season only and renewed annually to coastal locations consistently meeting the expected standards."

SIX beaches in Wales have lost their blue flags but 43 beaches and five marinas have earned the award.

In 2002, only 45 English beaches achieved Blue Flags.

The coastal resort areas were each awarded 14 Blue Flags and Quality Coast Awards (QCAs) for 2010 by anti-litter campaign group Keep Britain Tidy.

As he was being lapped Massa ignored blue flags telling him to move over for faster cars and Davidson, the former driver for Super Aguri looking to break back into F1, said: "He's always the first to stand up in a drivers' meeting and complain about what people like me are doing when we get lapped.