Two coastal resorts in Northern Ireland have been given official recognition for the quality of the bathing water on their beaches.

The east and west strands in Portrush, County Antrim, and Portstewart Strand in County Londonderry have secured the coveted Blue Flag awards.

The Blue Flags are awarded by ENCAMS, an environmental campaign group which organises the Blue Flag programme and the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.

The Blue Flag award is based on EC guidelines for water quality standards, along with other criteria, such as adequate toilet and litter facilities and information boards.

Dermot Nesbitt: Congratulated recipients

Environment Minister Dermot Nesbitt presented the awards on Friday and congratulated Coleraine Borough Council and the National Trust on their achievements.

"The possession of a Blue Flag has become a matter of prestige for coastal resorts,"he said.

"The continued success of these three bathing waters is a credit to Coleraine Borough Council and the National Trust.

"This coveted award requires considerable investment in beach management and facilities."

It is the tenth successive year that the council has been awarded a Blue Flag for the west strand in Portrush and the sixth time that the town's east strand has received the accolade.

It is the fifth time the National Trust has been awarded a flag for Portstewart Strand.

The DOE's Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) monitor 16 identified bathing waters under the EC Bathing Water Directive.

It was found that bathing water quality at Portrush West Strand has been consistently excellent since monitoring began in 1988.

Bathing water quality at Portstewart Strand and Portrush East Strand has been either excellent or good during that time.

Accessibility

Monitoring is undertaken throughout the bathing season from 1 June to mid-September.

Sites are selected where large numbers of people bathe and each site is sampled on 20 occasions during the season.

The Blue Flag has become the definitive international measure of beaches.

It is regarded as an effective monitoring system, because it measures everything from accessibility for disabled visitors through to the number of bins provided and litter left on the beach.