As the summer season beckons, and children start thinking about leaving their schoolwork behind for a few weeks, the question on many parents mind will no doubt be, 'what are we going to do with them?' And for those looking for a cheap day out, when the sun decides to put his hat on, the beach is often the perfect location. With lifeguards now operating at many beaches, the safety issue is taken care of and both parent and child are able to have a relaxing day in the sun.

However, when that parent discovers that the number of beaches achieving the highest standards for water quality has fallen by 10% in the past year, that trip to the seaside may not seem as desirable.

According to the Marine Conservation Society, which publishes an annual guide to Britain's best beaches, the number of bathing beaches that reached the highest standards has dropped by a record amount - the biggest fall they have seen in the 21 year history of the guide. Beaches that failed to meet minimum standards more than tripled.

The decline in quality of the samples that are tested between May and September each year is being blamed on the exceptionally heavy rainfall in June and July last year.

Thomas Bell, coastal pollution officer for the MCS, said, "When you get a lot of water from storms you get storm-related pollution, which is the runoff from agriculture, animal and urban waste and petrochemicals which run into rivers and streams. Pollution also comes from combined sewer overflows, which are long pipes, which also shoot flood water. Last summer it happened a lot and it's why we've had a record drop in the number of beaches we've awarded."

This year's survey of 778 beaches recommends 434 beaches, 370 of which were also recommended last year. Ninety-one beaches fell from recommended status, and 10 of these are now listed as a fail.

In spite of this, the MCS have admitted that some of these beaches may well be clean now. Bell said, "The water quality will probably have changed a lot since last year - it can change on a daily, even hourly, basis. Given that we have this imperfect testing, the best thing to do is to look at the bigger picture, to see if over the past three years a beach has been consistently recommended.

"If we get another summer like last year, I would pick beaches that have done well in this year's guide. If they've done well, they've borne the brunt of the storms and are probably storm-proof."

The MCS guide is based on European mandatory water standards and treatment of continuous sewage discharges, with recommended status given to beaches that achieve an excellent rating in both categories.

A revised European bathing water directive was adopted in England in March this year. It calls for tighter minimum water quality standards by 2015 and broader regulations for informing the public.

Blue Flag, another award scheme covering 36 countries, will announce its annual list of cleanest beaches next month.

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