HEAVY summer rains have been blamed for four beaches in Teesside failing to make it into a guide of the UK's best beaches.

Water pollution levels were too high at Seaton Carew North Gare, Seaton Carew centre, Seaton Carew north and Hartlepool Headland's North Sands beach for them to be included in the Good Beach Guide.

This is despite a huge investment from water companies and the local council to clean up the beaches.

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which compiled the guide, said the beaches' failure to reach their minimum water quality standard was probably due to the heavy rainfall last summer.

Sam Fanshawe, director of conservation at the MCS, said the rains had led to increased run off from farmers' fields, resulting in extra pollution in the sea.

She said: "Two of these beaches were included in our guide last year, which suggests they are likely to be quite clean. We know that Northumbria Water has invested heavily in sewage treatment works in the area. I think in this instance they have been unlucky."

All four of the beaches passed the minimum European standard, which requires that there are less than 10,000 bacteria in the sea water. However, the MCA standard is much stricter and fails beaches that have 500 bacteria or more in their water samples.

A spokesman for Hartlepool Borough Council, which recently received the ENCAMS seaside award for the quality of beaches in the town, said they were looking into why they had not been included in the guide.