Water testing starts at Devon and Cornwall beaches

The Environment Agency has begun its weekly sampling of water at 155 monitored beaches and river bathing sites in Devon and Cornwall.

Sampling will continue until the end of September, with updates available on the Swimfo website, it said.

Samples are tested for harmful bacteria such as E. Coli and intestinal enterococci.

The agency said Swimfo also included pollution risk forecasting, which warns people on some days water quality could be temporarily reduced due to factors such as rainfall, wind and high tides.

Beaches are classed as excellent, good, sufficient and poor.

Any classification from sufficient and above means the water is safe to swim in, said the agency.

Beaches such as Perranporth in Cornwall received an excellent grading while only two beaches in Devon and Cornwall, Coastguards Beach on the Erme Estuary and Porthluney, were classed as poor.

A poor classification means "very high standards are not consistently met", said the agency, which would be "actively investigating why".

Bruce Newport, from the agency, said: "Over a third of England's bathing waters can be found in Devon and Cornwall and over 98% of them meet the very high levels of water quality expected for safe swimming."

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