BLACKPOOL'S tourism chiefs, tired of the resort being slammed for dirty sea water, want to bid for a seaside award as soon as the pollution is cleaned up.

Blackpool Council head of tourism Jane Seddon has got used to highlighting the resort's other attractions while waiting for North West Water's multi-million pound clean-up to achieve European bathing-water standards.

Monday's publication of the 1998 Good Beach Guide, as exclusively forecast in last week's Citizen, was just the latest in a long line of critical reports.

The national guide, published by the Marine Conservation Society and Readers' Digest, found that Lytham St Annes, Blackpool south, central, north and Fleetwood all failed the tests.

Only one Fylde beach - Bispham - passed.

Jane Seddon commented: "It's very disappointing that NW Water's original project did not achieve the bathing water standards it was hoped to.

However, Blackpool continues to work closely with the agencies to ensure the matter will be put right.

"The beach at Blackpool is clean, and once we have the minimum standards for bathing water we will be applying for a seaside award.

"I must add that although the sea is very important, most people come to Blackpool for the wide range of attractions it has to offer."

Two years ago NW Water invested £200m in new sewage treatment facilities in Fleetwood and Lytham, intended to eliminate the problem.

But despite a big improvement in the Fylde's discharges, the watchdog Environment Agency found sewage still coming down the rivers - especially the Ribble - from inland towns.

As a result, NW Water is pushing an extra £100m into disinfecting discharges, and improving inland sewage works .

Marine Conservation Society officer Chris Davis said: "The North West continues to be the worst area in the country for bathing water quality, which is unfortunate after the massive investment from NW Water rate-payers."

NW Water's original project had gone some way to improving the problem, but swimmers still ran the risk of many infections, he said.

This risk would continue while contaminated water was still being discharged.

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