Dawlish Warren beach is one of 10 in the county to be recognised

Dawlish Warren was also recently voted the fifth best beach resort in the country by an independent survey.

The Blue Flag shows the water quality has achieved the highest standard defined by European Law.

The new flag will be flown by helicopter as part of celebrations being held on the beach on Friday.

Keep Britain Tidy

The best beach nomination came from a survey run by the charity Encams, the organisation which runs the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.

The news is being seen as a valuable boost to the resort.

Five years ago, the beach was linked with an E.coli outbreak, and last year's summer season was marred by the burning down of a retail store.

At its height, 70 firefighters were called in to tackle the flames at the incident last May.

However, the Dawlish Warren Trading Company has been rebuilt in time for the summer season.

Other beaches which have won the Blue Flag in the county include: Bigbury on Sea, Blackpool Sands, Croyde Bay, Torbay Breakwater Shoalstone, Corbyn Head, Meadfoot, Oddicombe, Westward Ho! and Woolacombe.