MSP blasts beach water concerns on social media
An MSP insisted Ayr’s bathing water was safe and told how her young daughter enjoyed a dip there last week.
Ayr MSP Siobhian Brown, along with environmental chiefs, rejected claims of the town’s bathing water being unsafe after concerns were raised on social media.
Ms Brown has urged people to stay clear of social media posts and not the beaches after her daughter enjoyed a dip in the water last week. The SNP politician has urged people to check the daily water quality, which can fluctuate, and insists that water quality is ‘good’ up to 70 per cent of the time; urging bathers to avoid it after heavy rainfall.
Ms Brown, also a councillor for Ayr West, said: “I would urge anyone visiting Ayr beach to take note of SEPA and not social media posts. I am surprised by this ongoing story, we know there is a poor rating of water at Ayr but this is updated daily and is only a danger after it rains, and it has been dry all week.
“My daughter was there with her gran last Monday and she was up to her neck in water and she has been fine.”
The agency which tests water quality on a daily basis says the bathing water has been rated ‘good’ last week. It comes after a suspected ‘health scare’ on the beach was shared by thousands of people on social media, with visitors being warned to avoid
the water. One parent claimed their child was left with a strange allergic reaction and broke out in a rash which they claimed was linked to the bathing water quality at the popular Ayr South Beach.
Further social media posts have indicated cases of ‘swimmers rash’ have been identified - though there are no confirmed cases in Ayrshire of the condition brought on by parasites in the water.
The defence of Ayr’s real-time water quality comes on the back of the bathing water being slammed with a ‘poor’ grade for the fourth year running - a fifth consecutive failure will lead to people being warned to stay out of the sea.
We told last month how Ayr (South Beach) was named amongst the top 10 dirtiest in the UK alongside Heads of Ayr and Troon (South Beach) in a survey completed by Save on Energy.
Earlier in the summer, Scottish Water announced a £10million investment to turn the tide on the consistently poor water quality.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said: “We have had no reports of pollution at Ayr (South Beach), and the water prediction at Ayr (South Beach) on Sunday, June 27 was ‘good’, which was displayed on our electronic signage. Anyone who is concerned about health issues following bathing should contact their local authority, which has responsibility for public health.”