A Blue Flag will be flying at a Margate beach for the first time

Four of the six are beaches which last year failed to reach the required standards for clean water, management and visitor facilities.

The beaches in the county to get the thumbs up are in Birchington, Herne Bay, Margate, Ramsgate, Sheerness and Westgate.

They are among a record 105 beaches across the UK to get Blue Flags - almost double the number from just three years ago.

The Blue Flags are awarded by Encams, an environmental campaigns group which organises the Keep Britain Tidy movement.

Kent's Blue Flag beaches Birchington, Minnis Bay Herne Bay Central Ramsgate Main Sands Sheerness, Beach Street West Bay, Westgate Westbrook Bay, Margate

The awards are only given to beaches with water clean enough to pass tough tests set by European law.

Facilities such as lifeguard and first aid services, the amount of litter on the beach and available bins and access for disabled visitors are also strictly examined.

When the awards were first handed out in 1987 only 14 UK beaches received Blue Flags.

In Kent, beaches at West Bay in Westgate and Westbrook Bay in Margate receive flags for the first time in the 2003 list, announced on Thursday.

Herne Bay's central beach and the main sands at Ramsgate both win the award for the first time since 2003, while the Minnis Bay beach at Birchington and Sheerness beach keep their place on the roll of honour from last year.