'Brown flag dirtiest beach in UK' sees visitors fined £100 by 'Big Brother'

A beach in Cornwall that has been awarded a “Brown Flag” for being one of the dirtiest in the UK is also plagued with parking issues, where visitors can be fined £100 by “Big Brother”.

Porthluney Beach was branded one of Britain’s filthiest, despite Cornwall being the fourth highest ranking English county for places to swim in the sea during summer.

The scathing award was given out by UK travel site Holiday Park Guru, which analysed Environment Agency summer water quality data from hundreds of beaches up and down the country.

The 13 lucky recipients of the “Brown Flag” honour are also being offered a complimentary flag displaying a poo emoji to place on their shores.

The beaches have been rated as “poor” by the Environment Agency due to bacteria such as e-coli being found in the waters, stemming from sewage or other waste.

However, beachgoers at Porthluney say the dirty conditions aren’t the only issue, with many complaining about the parking situation at the privately owned cove.

Writing on TripAdvisor about her September 2023 trip, Sarah T said she wouldn't be returning to Porthluney Beach after she used the parking machine to pay in cash and was later fined.

She said: “After leaving Cornwall had a £100 parking fine, appealed, to no avail and of course threw my parking ticket away so no evidence. Not going back to this car park or beach again after reading so many reviews about parking fines.”

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The user lambasted the parking situation for “ruining a holiday memory”.

A month prior, John T had also complained about his trip to the beach, dubbing the car park a “rip off”.

He ranted on the popular review site: “We visited this beach one evening to watch a local band. When we arrived home we found a parking charge fine waiting for us. I appealed the fine and it was rejected. Moral of the story is, keep your car park ticket for a month or so because if like me you pay cash you've no way of proving what you paid.

“We won't visit this beach again which means we won't be supporting the pop up eateries on site.”

User David added that greed has “ruined” the once beautiful beach, writing: “Shame on the owners for being so greedy to spoil what was once a great place to visit for a safe swim and reasonable bite to eat.

“Not anymore from my recent experience of poor food, dirty beach and the hassle of trying to use a machine that makes you feel that Big Brother is watching your every move to fine you for even more money. Last visit to this part of town I feel!”

Another user slammed the “money grabbing, heartless private parking company” which “ruined a beautiful beach”, whilst a second warned others to not park there and said they “won't be returning to Cornwall again as this place ruined the holiday as we were on a very limited budget”.

At the bottom of the league table of counties with the dirtiest beaches was Lancashire, with none of its bathing spots achieving a three-star “excellent” rating for cleanliness.

Robbie Lane, from Holiday Park Guru, said: “We’re hoping to make a real splash in the papers with the launch of England’s first ever 'Brown Flag Awards'. Commiserations to our 13 winners this year – you really are top of the plops.

“We just hope they’ll take up our offer of a free brown flag, although I’m afraid we can’t quite afford to provide a flagpole as well. On a more positive note, high praise is warranted for England's 273 beaches with the top rating for their water quality - including 72 beaches in Cornwall.”