Pendine Beach hoisted the coveted blue and yellow Seaside Award flag at the weekend to join Cefn Sidan, Pembrey, with the honour.

Both of Carmarthenshire's tourist resort beaches have qualified to fly the flags after a massive investment by local Carmarthenshire County Council and Welsh Water.

To achieve Seaside Award status the award-winning beaches will have attained at the European Union minimum standard of bathing water quality and met a long list of strictly monitored land based criteria

They will also have satisfied the judges that the standard of their built infrastructure, environmental credentials and overall management is of a consistently high standard.

The 26 criteria includes dog ban areas, general safety, arrangements for disabled users and a range of requirements aimed at enhancing visitor enjoyment. All the beaches are regularly monitored by a team of experienced inspectors and should the beach not meet the standards during their unannounced visit the local authority will be instructed to take down the award flag.

Laugharne Township county councillor Jane Tremlett said it was fitting schoolchildren from Llanmilo County Primary and Tremoilet Voluntary Controlled Primary Schools had joined the flag raising celebrations at Pendine.

She said: "Pendine Sands is a vast playground for the local population and the thousands of visitors who come here for holidays every year. The awarding of the flag recognises the high standards that are not only achieved but maintained at Pendine and Pembrey."

The flag raising ceremony at Pendine co-incided with the launch of the RNLI Life