Even if it's a little chilly for swimming in the sea this time of the year, there's one beach you might want to avoid dipping your toes in.

Margate's Walpole Bay is the only beach in Kent to be rated poor in the latest bathing water quality test by the Environment Agency.

In fact, it was the only one to be rated poor in the whole South East region, and is among the dirtiest 6.8% of beaches in England.

Viking Bay and Littlestone beach fared only slightly better, with both being rated "sufficient".

But don't worry - if you do fancy a spot of bathing, you can head to one of the county's 18 excellent rated beaches.

Swimming at Walpole Bay is not advised as the water quality there is affected by a range of pollution sources.

These include dog and bird mess, litter, bacteria from seaweed, rainwater overflow from the wastewater network following heavy showers, and rainwater run-off from possible misconnections in surrounding roads, private drains and sewers.

Results announced by Defra show that out of Kent's 29 bathing waters, 18 are rated excellent, eight good, two sufficient and one poor.

Within the south east region, Sussex has 14 excellent ratings, 12 good and one sufficient, Hampshire has 12 excellent and one good, and the Isle of Wight has seven excellent and seven good.

The results were taken from weekly assessments of water quality between May and September this year.

Measurement of bathing water quality standards are now twice as strict as before, following the revised European Bathing Water Directive implemented in 2015.

Across England, 93.2% of bathing waters are rated excellent or good, meaning all but three of Kent's bays are within this.

Paul Kent, Southern Water's environment and wastewater strategy manager said: "Bathing water quality is affected by a number of issues but we play an important role in helping support local authorities and the Environment Agency to ensure the coastal waters in our region are protected.

"We are thrilled this has been another great year for our region's beaches - they are a vital asset and of huge importance to the people who live and work here."

This year, Southern Water announced the launch of its Bathing Water Enhancement Programme which looks to improve water quality even more.

Discussions have also been held with the council to highlight how water quality can be improved in Thanet, with more "Days of Action" events planned across the region.

The firm says it will work alongside local authorities, the Environment Agency and other organisations to find and fix sources of pollution which have prevented three of the bays from obtaining the top ratings.