DORSET has some of the cleanest beaches in Britain, with four popular hotspots in the top ten out of more than 400 nationwide.

New research by Businesswaste.co.uk has ranked the cleanest and dirtiest beaches across Britain by analysing data from 425 beaches.

The rankings are based on the total count of E. Coli, a fecal indicator, detected in the seawater during routine government testing over the past two years.

While Treyarnon Bay in Cornwall took the top spot with a score of 50, Shell Bay in Dorset was a close runner up with just 51 detected.

This was followed very closely by the 53 rating of third-placed Kimmeridge Bay, then by Durdle Door East placed at fifth with 55 and finally by Poole's Shore Road beach at ninth.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Dorset as Bowleaze Cove was among the dirtiest with an E. Coli detection of 3,349 – the third highest in the UK.

Mark Hall, co-founder of BusinessWaste.co.uk, said: “You will probably avoid beaches that are filled with litter and washed-up plastic waste, but you may not instantly think about what dangerous bacteria may be lingering in the water. We hope that our study on the cleanest and dirtiest beaches will help you make that all-important decision.”