A £4.5 million wastewater improvement scheme helped Allonby's bathing waters make the grade.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has today released the latest bathing water results, which show that Allonby has gone from 'poor' to 'sufficient.'

A scheme by United Utilities has doubled the capacity of Allonby's wastewater treatment works off the village's beach.

It has also created a new underground storage tank at the works to capture more storm water during heavy rain and reduce sewer spills.

The treated wastewater which is returned to the see has also been improved by a new bug-zapping ultraviolet equipment.

Steve Dooley, of United Utilities, said: "This latest result is great news and shows that the investment we have put in is now paying off.

"By improving the quality of the treated wastewater that we return to the sea and reducing the number of sewer spills we have been able to play a significant part in cleaner bathing waters off the Solway coast.

"Lots of factors contribute to the quality of bathing waters and the wastewater network is just one part of a complex jigsaw.

"Nevertheless, it's an important part and we're delighted that the new works is now making its contribution felt."

Despite a tougher benchmark introduced in 2015, all 31 bathing waters in the North West have made the grade this year.

The bathing water profile published this year for Allonby said: "Heavy rain falling on pavements and roads often flows into surface water drains or highway drains, ending up in local rivers and ultimately the sea.

"The quality of bathing water may be adversely affected as a result of such events.

"At this site the risk of encountering reduced water quality increases after rainfall and typically returns to normal after 1-3 days.

"Fifty warnings advising against swimming due to an increase risk of short term pollution were issued in 2016 for Allonby bathing water.

"These warnings were issued because of the effects of heavy rain on the water quality."

Silloth has also gone from 'poor' to 'sufficient' as Allonby's bathing water.

St Bees bathing water was rated 'excellent', improving from last year's 'good' result.

United Utilities is a member of the Turning Tides partnership of organisations working together to improve the quality of bathing waters through infrastructure investment, planning and a public information campaign called Love My Beach.

Turning Tides partners are local authorities, United Utilities, the Environment Agency, Keep Britain Tidy and British Destinations.

More information is available at lovemybeach.org