The cleanest beaches near Bristol according to the Environment Agency

A beach trip is popular among many Bristol families in the summertime.

People from the city are spoilt for choice, with plenty of options including Weston-super-Mare, South Wales and Somerset.

But is it safe to enjoy a paddle in the waters of these beaches?

We have looked at what the Environment Agency has to say about their cleanliness.

Weston-super-Mare's main beach

The 2km beach is a popular attraction for hundreds of thousands of people in the summer.

But the Environment Agency rates the water quality as poor and advises against bathing there.

The water was judged to be 'good' (two stars out of three) when ratings began in 2015, before being reduced to 'sufficient' (one star) in 2016 and 2017.

The North Somerset spot was then found to be 'poor' (zero stars) in 2018, the most recent classification.

The Environment Agency attributes pollution in the water to various causes including litter, sewage and wrongly connected pipes.

Barry Island

The 170m sandy cove of Jackson's Bay, in Barry Island, was rated good each year until 2018, when it was downgraded to sufficient.

The Environment Agency said this about tests of the beach: "Sewage debris was observed in trace amounts on over thirty per cent of occasions.

"Trace amounts of animal faeces were noted at the site on a minority of occasions.

"Trace amounts of litter were observed at the bathing water the majority of the time and in greater amounts on less than ten per cent of additional occasions.

"There were two observations of tarry residues at this site in 2018, otherwise oil and tarry residues were not noted."

The nearby 700m cove of Barry Island's Whitmore Bay has fared better, with a good rating in 2018 and excellent before that.

Weston-super-Mare Uphill Slipway

The Environment Agency tests water quality

This beach, which is popular with windsurfers, lies in the village of Uphill, at the south end of the long Weston-super-Mare beach.

The Slipway, around 1.2km wide, has been rated sufficient each year since 2015, except 2017 when it was poor.

The Environment Agency says the beach has suffered from short-term pollution.

It added that sewage debris was visible on nine per cent of visits from 2015 to 2018.

Litter was observed on 76 per cent of visits.

Burnham-on-Sea Jetty North

The spot, one of eight beaches in Burnham, was rated poor for water quality in 2018.

Jetty North - which is approximately 2.2km wide - has held that rating since 2015.

The poor rating is due to short-term pollution, according to the Environment Agency website.

It describes short-term pollution as "heavy rainfall or high tides wash faecal material into the sea from livestock, sewage and urban drainage via rivers and streams".

The advice is to avoid swimming at the sand and mud resort.

Clevedon Beach

Clevedon Beach, which overlooks the Bristol Channel from the Somerset coast, is a sand and pebble beach, around 850m wide.

The water has been rated good since 2015.

Backed by the promenade and the town, Clevedon Beach boasts a marine lake which is filled by sea water during high tides.

Southerndown

Backed by steep sandstone cliffs, this 1km beach in the Vale of Glamorgan is rated 'excellent' (three stars).

The perfect score has stayed constant since the Environment Agency's water quality ratings began in 2015.

The beach is sandy, with a shingle bank at the high tide mark.

Sand Bay

This 5km sand and shingle beach resort is often referred to as 'Weston's hidden gem'. It lies just two miles north of the town.

This relatively quiet beach, which is popular with walkers, has been rated good since 2015.

Brean

Brean is 2.7km stretch of sand and mud running to Burnham-on-Sea. It has extensive tidal flats favoured by walkers and beach sports enthusiasts.

Its rating has never dipped below excellent.

Berrow North of Unity Farm

A short distance from Brean lies this beach, which has a section protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of its rare sand dune habitat.

Around 6.4km wide, Berrow North of Unity Farm has always been rated good.

The beach is home to the shipwreck of the Norwegian barque SS Nornen, which ran aground in 1897.