South West Water is sponsoring a free family fun day on Westward Ho! beach to celebrate the expansion of its award-winning bathing water quality website www.beachlive.co.uk.

Launched last year, the BeachLive website now features 42 Blue Flag and popular beaches across the region, with live water quality updates from 36 of these beaches including Westward Ho!

The South West Water customer caravan team will be joining the Heart Angels at Westward Ho! beach on Saturday 21 July from 11am to 3pm.

Adults can chill out in the Heart Alfresco Zone and soak up the sun in a deckchair while the kids build sandcastles, play beach games with the Angels and get their faces painted. Plus be sure to fill out an entry form with the Angels for the chance to win a beach hamper including a digital camera, parasol, towels, picnic set and £100 of surf vouchers.

The South West Water caravan team will be on hand to give away free water-saving devices, water bottles and furry bugs and answer any questions you may have.

The next stop on the BeachLive tour will be Salcombe South Sands beach on Saturday 4 August, 11am to 3pm.

More information can be found at www.southwestwater.co.uk/waterlive and http://www.heart.co.uk/southwest/win/south-west-water-beachlive/

Notes to editors

BeachLive (www.beachlive.co.uk) was launched last year in partnership with Surfers Against Sewage, the Environment Agency, tourism leaders and beach managers

This year BeachLive offers users free text message alerts from their five favourite beaches

'Blue flags' are posted on the BeachLive website when there is no risk to water quality from the operation of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in the sewerage system. On rare occasions when significant overflows do happen - normally during or after heavy rain - 'amber' updates are posted on the site and beach operators are notified by email or SMS texts.

'Amber flags' are removed when there have been no further significant overflows over the next 12 hours. These 'significance' triggers are based on Environment Agency data and have been agreed by all partners. This year a new 'red flag' has been introduced to indicate when a beach has been closed due to other circumstances such as particularly dangerous currents or an oil spill.

The site also features surf, tide and weather forecasts plus information about beach facilities, bathing water quality awards and how the public can do their bit to avoid pollution through responsible waste disposal.

Published: 13 July 2012

For further information please contact:

Press Office

South West Water

web:www.southwestwater.co.uk/contactus