How contaminated are Northumberland beaches? How to to get pollution information for North East sites

North Tyneside beaches throughout the summer are at the busiest they will be all year.

But with so many people heading to the coast – and concerns about sewage overflows at Britain’s beaches ongoing – it’s vital to know how clean coastal water is across the North East.

How can I check my local beach’s pollution levels?

The group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has launched the newest version of a helpful interactive map which shows up to date pollution forecasts at over 400 coastal locations across the UK, including a handful in North Tyneside and Northumberland.

This tracks sewage overflows which may impact popular coastal locations and pollution risk forecasts to give beach goers a full understanding of the quality of the water they could be swimming in.

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The alerts are put into four categories, the first shows there are no alerts in place, a second which shows there is a risk warning in place, another which suggests water quality information is not available and a fourth which means local sewer systems are under maintenance and real time alerts have been disabled.

The Environment Agency also have a UK-wide map showing water quality of bathing sites across the country.

From May to September, weekly assessments measure current water quality, and at a number of sites daily pollution risk forecasts are issued. Annual ratings classify each site as excellent, good, sufficient or poor based on measurements taken over a maximum four year period.

How polluted are beaches in North Tyneside and Northumberland?

Luckily for those who spend their summers at beaches in and around the coast, the maps do not show many issues with water quality at beaches along North Tyneside and Northumberland beaches.

The Surfers against Sewage map only advises the public staying away from Tynemouth Cullercoats. This is due to what the charity describes as a “poor annual classification.”

It adds: “Although there are no sewer overflows discharging directly at Tynemouth Cullercoats, [there is] a large number discharge into the River Tyne which meets the sea just to the south of the bathing water.”

The public are advising against bathing in the sea at the same site based on information from the Enironment Agency.

The rest of the beaches along the North Tyneside and Northumberland coast are considered to be healthy.