Red flag warning in force at South Shields beach due to 'discolouration' of water

The flag went up on Tuesday, August 27 and continues to be displayed on Wednesday, August 28 due to “discolouration” in the water.

Tests will be carried out on a sample of the sea water in order to determine what has caused the change, and South Tyneside Council confirmed it will continue to monitor the situation as investigations continue.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of the current red flag situation at Sandhaven Beach in South Tyneside.

“One of our sampling team has been assigned to take a sample of the sea water, after which, tests and analysis will be made to decipher the potential cause of the issue.

“It could simply be the effects of natural causes. We will continue to monitor the situation and share our findings once the appropriate tests have been made.”

A spokeswoman for the RNLI confirmed that the beach will continue to be red flagged until the Environment Agency has fed back on sample

This incident follows on from a liquid spillage in the sea over the bank holiday weekend, which came ashore at Roker.

A dark brown substance discoloured the water, and was also spotted along the North East coast between North Tyneside and Hartlepool.

The Environment Agency confirmed that they could not find any trace of pollution in the area. It is not known if these incidents are linked.