Three local beaches named among best seaside spots in the country

THREE beaches in Christchurch and Highcliffe have been awarded Seaside Awards in the annual Keep Britain Tidy accolades for the best spots on the UK coastline.

Friar’s Cliff, Avon and Highcliffe were all recognised for having high standards of cleanliness, good management and excellent standards of water quality.

Helping them to win the awards was a litter campaign which was launched last year in the area appealing to beach users to take their rubbish home with them.

Leave Only Footprints encouraged people to clear up after themselves at the end of their day on the beach while also trying to be greener in what they took with them.

The campaign has amassed 1,575 volunteer hours on litter picks and beach cleans across the local area.

Chris Saunders, head of operations for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Tourism, said: “We’re so proud of the numbers of awards we’ve received this year.

"The team works hard to care for our beaches and Leave Only Footprints has reinforced a sense of pride among locals and regular visitors too.

“We consider ourselves very lucky to be the guardians of such a breath taking stretch of coastline and it’s great to know that Keep Britain Tidy have given us their stamp of approval.”