LYME’S tourist industry is at risk of being ruined as one of the resort’s polluted beaches is named among the dirtiest once again.

The warning has come from a local travel expert after the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Good Beach Guide 2011 was published last week.

It shows Church Beach in Lyme Regis has failed to meet minimum water quality standards, while Cobb Beach managed only a basic pass.

It is the only beach in Dorset to have failed, despite it being one of the best years on record, with 461 UK beaches having ‘excellent’ water quality.

Half a dozen national newspapers named and shamed Lyme Regis, known for its reputation as the Pearl of Dorset.

Doug Goodman, a travel expert with 40 years’ experience, of Charmouth Close, Lyme Regis, is fearful of what the damaging publicity it will bring the resort.

Mr Goodman, of Doug Goodman Public Relations, said: “Bad publicity tends to stick and it can be very difficult to change the public’s perception once they think Lyme has polluted beaches, and I fear to most people, polluted means sewage.

“We know that’s not necessarily the case but if Lyme doesn’t do something soon it will start to lose tourists.”

Lyme Regis Town Council, West Dorset District Council, the Environment Agency and South West Water have been working together to tackle the problem since Church Beach failed in last year’s Good Beach Guide.

South West Water and the Environment Agency are investigating the water quality, which includes looking at leaking sewers and farm run-off.

But town councillors have slammed suggestions to de-designate the beach as a bathing area.

The town council is carrying out a survey into how the beach is used, while the Environment Agency continues its seasonal water testing.

Town clerk Mike Lewis said: “The business sector in the town gets very concerned about the bad publicity and the damage on the economy of the town but I think there’s little we can do until this survey of Church Beach is complete in September.

“The town council will then have to come up with a view about whether they want to pursue de-designation or not.”

West Dorset District Council community protection manager Graham Duggan said he is confident Lyme Regis is a safe and clean resort.

He said: “The problem is caused by the proximity of Church Beach to the outlet of the River Lim, which like many rivers in the UK is sometimes affected by agricultural run-off being washed into the river by rainfall.

“Church Beach is not the main bathing beach at Lyme Regis and we do not believe it is generally used as such by the public.

“Water quality at the main bathing beach at Lyme has historically been fine and we are confident that Lyme Regis is a safe and clean resort for people to visit.”

Elsewhere along the Jurassic Coast, beaches at Charmouth, West Bay, Seatown, and Eype Mouth were among those given the top ‘recommended’ standard.

THE Marine Conservation Society said people using Church Beach face ‘unacceptable levels’ of bacteria and viruses.

Swimming could be banned on beaches that consistently fail to meet basic standards under new European laws due to come into force.

MCS coastal pollution officer Rachel Wyatt said: “From 2015 Europe’s beaches will be classified using even stricter water quality standards due to the revision of the Bathing Water Directive.

“But instead of viewing these new standards with dread, our coastal communities and water companies should welcome them as an opportunity to attract more people to the UK’s wonderful and varied seaside resorts.”

Monitoring for the new standards begins next year, and if a beach consistently fails to meet these legal limits between then and 2015, bathers could be faced with a sign advising them not to enter the water.

MCS pollution programme officer Robert Keirle said one issue they are particularly concerned about is the amount of untreated sewage flowing unto coastal waters from Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs).

Mr Keirle said: “MCS wants all of these pipes mapped and monitored, and for the public to be told at the time when, and for how long, the sewage is flowing.”