Sunderland City Council Assistant Head of Service (Museums, Heritage and Arts), Trina Murphy, joins Ed Tutty from Sunderland Seafront Traders Association and a team from the RNLI Lifeguards ( who begin daily patrols 10am - 6pm this Saturday on Roker and Seaburn beaches until Sunday 3 September ) to celebrate Sunderland receiving this year's Blue Flag and Seaside Award.
Sunderland's beautiful beaches have once again been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Award by leading environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy.
It was announced today (Tuesday 23 May) that the historic sands of Roker and Seaburn have picked up the national awards for their consistent high water quality, cleanliness and constantly improving visitor amenities
The internationally recognised Blue Flag will once again be raised over the twin resorts this summer, as a symbol to bathers and beach users of the high water quality and great facilities available for families, residents, visitors and tourists.
The Seaside Award has been handed to Roker and Seaburn for the sixth consecutive year.
These awards from Keep Britain Tidy are national recognition of the continuing high standard of maintenance and environmental improvements achieved along the seafront.
Sunderland City Council Assistant Head of Service (Museums, Heritage and Arts), Trina Murphy, said: "We were delighted to reclaim the Blue Flag for the twin resorts of Roker and Seaburn last year, and even more delighted to achieve it again this year.
"Both awards recognise our resort beaches as being some of the best in the country, and are testament to the hard work of everyone involved in achieving national recognition of that fact.
"Sunderland has fantastic beaches with beautiful, clean water to swim and bathe in, a magnificent seafront and a pier and promenade for everyone to enjoy."
Trina Murphy added: "Hopefully these flags will encourage even more people to join those who already flock to our seaside every year to enjoy our world-class beaches, events and attractions."
Ed Tutty from the Sunderland Seafront Traders Association said: "Achieving Blue Flag status and the Seaside Award again is fantastic recognition for all the hard work everyone has put in to get the seafront looking the way it is today. The flags are a visible reminder to everyone of how good and clean our beaches are, and what a fantastic place our seafront is to visit
"Continuing regeneration work and further development of amenities and attractions, will help bring-even more tourists to the area all contributing to the city businesses and the local economy."