Among the offending destinations are Bognor Regis, Aldwick and Blackpool North, which were all rated ‘poor’ by the Environment Agency due to summer water quality
The grossest, filthiest, most sewage-ridden beaches in the country have been named and shamed.
In an effort to highlight England’s beaches that you might want to avoid, Holiday Park Guru has unveiled its second annual Brown Flag Awards. Using official Environment Agency water quality data to select the ‘winners’, the firm has sent out tasteful brown flags to the worst beaches, so they can warn swimmers of the nastiness lurking just beneath the surface.
Among the offending destinations are Bognor Regis, Aldwick and Blackpool North, which were all rated ‘poor’ by the Environment Agency due to summer water quality. Brown Flag beaches are those rated ‘poor’ for water quality by the Environment Agency. This is because of their levels of bacteria such as e-coli from sewage and other waste.
READ MORE: Sewage map shows Britain’s dirtiest beaches where swimming could make you sick
Some of the worst water cleanliness readings were found at beaches at popular resorts including Blackpool, Weston Super Mare and Bognor Regis. This doesn’t necessarily mean the whole beach is ‘poor’ for bathing – it is sometimes just one section of beach.
The number of brown flag beaches leapt up from 13 in 2024 to 19 in 2025. Campaigner and swimmer Robbie Lane from Holiday Park Guru said: “We had hoped that we’d be handing out fewer Brown Flags this year – but things have gone down the pan. Do your research this summer and you’ll be saying ‘wish you were here’ rather than ‘wish I’d worn a hazmat suit’.”
The water quality readings are based on readings taken in the warmer months, when people are most likely to be taking a dip. In addition, the sea is less likely to be clean in winter, as it rains more which leads to more unpleasant stuff overflowing into rivers and into the sea.
Once again, Lancashire is rock bottom of the county league table with none of its ten designated bathing spots achieving the Environment Agency’s coveted three-star ‘excellent’ rating for cleanliness. Somerset, Cumbria, Merseyside and Kent are all in the bottom half of the league table.
On the flip side of things, Northumberland ranks top, with more than 90% of its beaches being three-star stunners that achieve the highest score possible for water cleanliness. Dorset, Devon and Cornwall are also highly rated. The Isle of Wight, County Durham, Lincolnshire and Suffolk deserve praise, with all of their designated bathing areas gaining one of the top two ratings (‘good’ or ‘excellent’).
Brown Flag Award winners
(In alphabetical order, with new entrants flagged ‘poocomers’)
- Porthluney in Cornwall
- Coastguards Beach, Erme Estuary in Devon (Poocomer for 2025)
- Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach in Dorset (Poocomer for 2025)
- Southsea East in Hampshire
- Deal Castle in Kent (Poocomer for 2025)
- Dymchurch in Kent (Poocomer for 2025)
- Littlestone in Kent
- Blackpool North in Lancashire
- St Annes North in Lancashire
- Heacham in Norfolk
- Weston Main, Weston Super Mare Sand Bay and Weston Super Mare Uphill Slipway in Somerset
- Dunster Beach in Somerset
- Blue Anchor West in Somerset (Poocomer for 2025)
- Bognor Regis, Aldwick in Sussex
- Worthing Beach House in Sussex (Poocomer for 2025)
- Tynemouth Cullercoats in Tyne and Wear
- Littlehaven Beach in Tyne and Wear (Poocomer for 2025)
- Scarborough South Bay in North Yorkshire
- Bridlington South Beach in East Riding of Yorkshire