Ventnor beach received a Blue Flag and a Quality Coast Award. Picture courtesy of Isle of Wight Council.
ISLE of Wight beaches have scooped more accolades than any other area in the South East in the latest Blue Flag and Quality Coast Awards.
A total of 14 Island beaches were recognised, including Blue Flags for Shanklin, Sandown and Ventnor, which also received Quality Coast Awards.
There were further Quality Coast Awards for Colwell, Cowes, East Cowes, Gurnard, Seagrove, Springvale, Totland and Yaverland, which recognise high water quality and low litter levels.
It meant the Island was well ahead of second place Thanet, which had ten awards.
The news was welcomed by tourism cabinet member for tourism, Cllr George Brown.
"This confirms the Island is the number one resort in the South East for award-winning beaches, with more than four times as many winning beaches as areas like Brighton and Hove and Arun.
"This is very good news for the Island and I am sure potential visitors and holidaymakers will be very impressed by the sheer number of awards," he said.
That was echoed by council tourism director John Metcalfe.
"These are tough economic times with several areas of service being reviewed by the council yet we have still achieved these prestigious awards, which is a major boost for the Island." he said.
There were claims the cuts to the council-funded lifeguard services in Sandown Bay and Ventnor could lead to the Island losing its blue flag beaches.
Keep Britain Tidy found, however, the provision of safety plans and equipment was enough to meet the Blue Flag criteria.
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| Shanklin beach (picture courtesy of Isle of Wight Council) and Sandown beach were also awarded Blue Flags and Quality Coast Awards. |
Reporter: ross.findon@iwcp.co.uk