Eight beaches awarded Blue Flags

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Eight beaches in Northern Ireland have once again been awarded Blue Flags.

It is the same number as last year and the awards were given to beaches with litter-free sands and bathing waters meeting guideline standards.

A new winner is Portrush East Strand, which missed out last year, but Downhill beach has gone off the list.

Two Northern Ireland marinas - Ballycastle and Carrickfergus - also received the accolade for their good facilities and cleanliness.

Ian Cole, chief executive of Tidy Northern Ireland, the charity responsible for Blue Flag in Northern Ireland said a lot of work went into the awards.

"It's great that we can offer beach and sailing enthusiasts such good places to visit," he said.

"It is testament to the growing popularity and credibility of the awards. But also the hard work that those who look after our beaches and marinas put in to maintain such high standards."

NI'S BLUE FLAG BEACHES BallycastleBenone StrandCranfield WestPortstewart StrandPortrush, West StrandPortrush, WhiterocksTyrellaPortrush, East Strand

A Blue Flag beach must satisfy 29 different criteria including litter-free sands, bathing water that meets guideline standard, safe access to the beach for everyone, good, well maintained facilities and life-saving equipment.

Marinas have to meet more than 20 standards like equipment for firefighting, first aid and life saving, rubbish bins, visually clean water free of litter and oil and provision for drinking water.

Blue Flag is an international award which runs in 36 countries across the globe.

In the Republic of Ireland 80 beaches and three marinas were rewarded with Blue Flags, making the total on the island of Ireland 88 beaches and 5 marinas.

Donegal provided Ulster with the largest number of Blue Flags, 11 beaches representing 16% of the entire islands Blue Flag awards.