Inland and coastal bathing waters were tested

A record 99.5% of its 413 monitored bathing waters - both on the coast and inland - met EU standards compared with 98.8% in 2005.

Only Staithes, North Yorkshire, and the ladies' pond at Hampstead Heath did not reach the minimum mandatory standard.

Environment Minister Ian Pearson said money invested by water companies had helped to improve water quality.

The figures showed that in the stricter "guideline" water quality standards, 75.1% of bathing waters had passed the test compared with 73.7% last year.

"We should be very proud of the consistently high standard of water quality being achieved each year at our bathing waters," Mr Pearson said.

Work continued to further improve water quality with the upgrading of sewerage systems and measures to tackle pollution from farming and urban sources, he added.

"This still affects the quality of bathing water at some of our beaches and we will be working closely with farmers and others to reduce this type of pollution."