SEVEN Dorset beaches would fail basic bathing water quality standards being implemented in 2015, new research from DEFRA shows.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs released a report yesterday entitled 2014 compliance report for bathing waters in England, which reveals a number of Dorset beaches would fail the new stricter standards on bathing water quality.

These are: Castle Cove beach and Sandsfoot Castle beach in Portland Harbour, Seatown beach near Bridport, Church Cliff Beach and Front Beach in Lyme Regis, and Highcliffe Castle beach and Avon Beach in Christchurch.

The results also show that Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach has failed current mandatory standards for bathing water, which comes after a previous pass result in 2013.

Bathing waters are defined as beaches, lakes or ponds that are used by a large number of bathers and have been designated under the bathing waters directive.

From 2015 a revised bathing waters directive will be issued, using stricter standards to determine bathing water quality.

These are effectively the same standards DEFRA has used to decide if the beaches would fail, which they have called guideline compliance for the transition period between the old directive and the new directive.

According to the report, 84.5 percent of South West beaches would pass the new testing standards, putting the seven Dorset beaches in the bottom 15.5 percent in the region.

It would also put them in the bottom fifth (19.3 percent) of beaches across England.

In addition, DEFRA have said on their website that they are surveying the number of users of Church Cliff Beach in Lyme Regis.

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Seven Dorset beaches would fail new water quality standards