What has the EU ever done for my … beach?

Huge sections of the UK coastline were too polluted for swimming until EU legal action forced the government to clean up

In the 1980s, the British government tried to claim that the beaches of Brighton, Blackpool, Skegness and many other resorts weren't used for bathing, to avoid dealing with the sewage, condoms and tampons that polluted them. Of the 27 beaches it agreed were used for swimming, nine were too dirty to reach the minimum bathing standard.

Today, after legal action from the EU and directives on bathing water and urban waste water, 99% of the UK's 632 designated beaches have been deemed safe for swimming.