UK seaside towns face crisis as high E.coli and faeces levels may prevent swimming

More than half of the swimming spots in two Kent seaside towns might be labelled as ‘poor’ next year, worrying locals who enjoy swimming.

Two seaside towns in the UK are facing a big problem, as high levels of faeces and E. coli are making people worry they’ll soon have no safe places to swim.

In the Kent towns of Folkestone and Hythe, four out of six bathing spots could be rated as “poor” next year.

If this happens, “do not swim” warnings would be placed at Folkestone beach and Dymchurch, adding to the warnings already in place at Littlestone and St Mary’s Bay.

On top of that, the closure of the Folkestone Sports Centre in July, and the fact that Hythe Swimming Pool is in bad shape, has left residents concerned that there might soon be no places left to swim at all.

At a meeting of Folkestone & Hythe District Council last week, the council leader, Cllr Jim Martin (Green), called the situation “terrifying.” He said the Environmental Agency (EA) “hasn’t got a clue” what’s causing the problem.

Data collected since 2020 shows Dymchurch beach has an average of 188 E. coli colonies per 100ml. St Mary’s Bay has 101, Littlestone has 139, and Folkestone has 73.

The data also shows higher levels of intestinal enterococci, which suggests there could be human faeces in the water at Dymchurch and Folkestone.

Even though conditions have improved at Littlestone and St Mary’s Bay, the “no swim” warnings could still stay in place for the 2025 bathing season.

Cllr Martin told the council last week: “The EA needs to realise the serious risk that by 2025, four out of six of the district’s bathing spots could be rated as poor."

He added, “The EA needs to set a proper budget and assign enough staff to fully investigate and fix the problem, so our beaches can be back to good condition by the following year.”

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