Camber Sands and Winchelsea Beach have both been given a Keep Britain Tidy Seaside Award. The accolade was given to 120 beaches across the UK.
Neither beach was successful in achieving the environmental group's top award, the prestigious Blue Flag. 76 beaches across the country met the high standards required for a Blue Flag award - which is described as the world’s most recognised award for beaches, marinas and inland bathing waters.
In order to qualify, each area must meet and maintain a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria. Keep Britain Tidy’s chief executive, Allison Ogden-Newton said: “As an island community, the quality of our beaches and blue spaces is crucial to our environment and vital for our economy, particularly in terms of tourism and employment."
Leader of Rother District Council, Doug Oliver, said the awards for the local beaches also includes Bexhill-on-Sea and Norman's Bay. "The award celebrates the quality and diversity of Rother’s coastline and recognises safe, attractive and well-managed coastal area. It is testament to the efforts made by officers, contractors and volunteers to keep the coastline looking as good as possible."
A Blue Flag is only presented to beaches and inland bathing waters with bathing water which has achieved the highest classification as set by the EU Bathing Water Directive and have an environmental education programme, while Seaside Awards are presented to the best beaches in England and celebrate the quality and diversity of our coastline.
