The weather may not always be reliable - but at least this year, holiday-makers in Britain have a better chance of finding a clean beach.

A record 83 beaches have been awarded Blue Flags, after passing tough tests on clean water, good management and visitor facilities.

Last year, only 55 Blue Flags were given out.

Click here for a list of new Blue Flag beaches

On Breakfast this morning, we went to Rest Bay on the Welsh coast, where our reporter Gareth Jones spoke to Vicky Garner of Surfers against sewage

click here to see that interview in full

Alan Woods, chief executive of ENCAMS, an environmental campaigns group which organises the Blue Flag programme and the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, said:

"This is superb news for Britain and the two million people working in tourism.

"It also builds on the results released recently by the Environment Agency that showed that 397 beaches in England have water that is clean enough to pass European Law."

This year's clean beach list includes 14 new beaches and 18 re-entries.

But two popular resorts, Great Yarmouth and Bognor Regis, have lost their Blue Flag status.

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Beaches winning Blue Flags for the first time this year

East Midlands: Mabelthorpe Central, Lincolnshire.

East of England: Southend, Shoebury Common, Essex. Southend, Three Shells, Essex.

North East England: Sandhaven, South Shields, Tyne and Wear.Tynemouth, Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear. Tynemouth, King Edwards Bay, Tyne and Wear. Whitburn North, Seaburn, Tyne and Wear. Whitburn South, Roker, Tyne and Wear. Whitley Bay, South, Tyne and Wear

South West England. Bigbury-on-Sea, Devon. Challaborough, Devon. Polzeath, Cornwall. Poole Branksome Chine, Dorset. Torbay, Preston, Devon.