Sea waters off Britain's coasts cleaner than ever for swimmers

Sea bathing off the coast of England was judged safer than ever Tuesday with records showing favorite swimming spots are the cleanest on record.

Bathing water quality, tested at more than 400 beaches and lakes across England, reveal 98.5 percent have this year passed tough standards.

Millions of visitors to England's seaside and bathing spots will be able to enjoy swimming in cleaner water than ever before, thanks to massive improvements made over the past two decades, said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Just 28 percent of bathing waters met the top water quality standards in the early 1990s. Now 93.2 percent are rated excellent and good, said Defra.

The number of bathing waters rated "excellent" has increased by 5.9 percentage points since 2015, and five bathing waters have met at least the minimum standards for the first time.

"Huge strides have been made to improve water quality, helping to make England's beaches even more attractive for the increasing numbers of tourists who visit from around the world," said a Defra spokesman.

Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said: "England's bathing waters are enjoyed by millions of people every year, which is why I am delighted the water quality at our beaches and lakes is better than at any time since before the Industrial Revolution."

The seaside economy is worth more almost 4.5 billion U.S. dollars a year to the British economy, with 146 million people heading to Britain's beaches every year to appreciate natural landscape and facilities.

More British people are also choosing to holiday at home rather than head to overseas destinations. So-called staycation holidays are growing in appeal, with almost 14 million people in England choosing to holiday at a beach in Britain in 2015, up 7 percent on the previous year. Endit