BEACHES in Seaton and East Looe have failed to meet the minimum standards for bathing water quality set by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) in its 2013 Good Beach Guide.

Just around the corner from East Looe, Millendreath was judged as meeting the highest standards set by the charity, whose findings are based on Environment Agency samples taken in 2012.

The poor results follow one of the UK's wettest summers on record, with only just over half of the country's beaches being recommended.

'The likely cause is the increased amount of bacteria and viruses washed into our seas during heavy rain followed by flooding in many parts of the country,' said a MCS spokesperson.

'The problem with this kind of pollution is that you can't actually see it, and the concern is that people are continuing to spend time in the sea without realising the dangers, which could lead to ear, nose and throat infections and gastroenteritis.'

This type of pollution can originate from a variety of sources, says the MSC, including agricultural and urban run off, storm waters, misconnected plumbing, septic tanks and dog faeces.

Meetings organised by the Environment Agency took place in both Seaton and East Looe recently, as part of a programme to work with local communities to discuss the stricter standards for bathing waters due to be introduced in 2015.

'Bathing water quality has improved significantly over the past two decades but more needs to be done by water companies, businesses, farmers, local authorities and communities to help at-risk bathing waters pass the new standards,' said Jonathan Ponting, bathing water project manager for the Environment Agency in the South West.

'Community organisations are joining us in these events, which are being designed to inform people about how we sample bathing waters, explaining the possible sources of pollution and solutions, and the actions we would like people to take.'

Other South East Cornwall beaches mentioned in the Good Beach Guide were Kingsand, Par, Polkerris and Readymoney (Fowey), which all passed the minimum standard for water quality, and Millendreath, Downderry, Portwrinkle, Whitsand Bay (Sharrow) and Cawsand, which were all recommended as achieving an excellent standard.