All of Wales' beaches passed the latest water quality tests and Barry's seashores performed particularly well.

Three of Barry beaches were tested on their water quality - Jackson's Bay was rated good (an improvement from it's sufficient status last year), whilst Whitmore Bay and Cold Knap Barry were rated excellent.

Out of 105 bathing water areas in Wales, 83 areas achieved the EU's highest classification of 'excellent', up from last year's figure of 78. No areas were classified as 'poor' and so 100% passed.

Classification for each bathing water is calculated annually based on samples from the previous four years.

The Environment Agency rates the water as excellent, good, sufficient or poor, based on the level of bacteria.

Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths welcomed the statistics. She said: "We all know Wales has some of the most stunning coastline in Europe and these statistics prove we officially have some of the cleanest bathing water too.

"This is no fluke - I pay tribute to our partners including NRW, Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water and local authorities who all play a vital role in maintaining the high quality of our bathing water."

Lord Elis-Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism added: "This is a fantastic achievement, a true team effort and shows how Wales is committed to safeguarding our amazing natural assets for visitors as well as for residents and communities.

"The new action plan for the Visitor Economy has sustainability at its heart, and we will continue to work with partners to deliver a first class visitor experience which also looks after our natural assets."

Ceri Davies, Executive Director of Evidence, Policy and Permitting for NRW, said: "Ensuring our bathing waters are safe and clean for people and wildlife is a huge part of our job and we are particularly pleased all of our 105 designated bathing waters continue to meet EU quality standards.

"We remain committed to working with our partners to improve and protect the wonderful Welsh coastline, to maintaining the highest standards for all those who work, play and live in and around our waters."

Natural Resources Wales who monitor the water quality of bathing beaches provide information about pollution and how to avoid/ reduce it.

What are the top five sources of bathing water pollution?

• Pollution from sewage – bacteria from sewage can enter our waters as a result of system failures or overflows or directly from sewage works

• Water draining from farms and farmland – manure from livestock or poorly stored slurry can wash into rivers and streams resulting in faecal material entering the sea

• Animals and birds on or near beaches – dog, bird and other animal faeces can affect bathing water as they often contain high levels of bacteria (much higher than treated human waste)

• Water draining from populated areas – water draining from urban areas following heavy rain can contain pollution from a variety of sources, including animal and bird faeces

• Domestic sewage – misconnected drains and poorly located and maintained septic tanks can pollute surface water systems

What are the top five things you can do to improve bathing water?

• Check your home or business property is connected to the right drainage system. Wrongly connected plumbing could mean that dirty water from toilets, dishwashers and showers could be going directly into your local river or sea

• If you're a dog owner, obey the dog exclusion zones on beaches and pick up after your dog

• If your property is connected to a septic tank, make sure it's registered, check it's working correctly and keep it maintained

• Don't drop litter, especially food waste, as it encourages birds

• Get involved with local beach clean-ups. Many local and national organisations run regular beach cleans

For more information about water quality and the beaches near you please click the red button below.