Two beaches in the region have earned unwanted attention in the annual Brown Flag Awards, which highlight coastal areas with the lowest water quality ratings.

Tynemouth, Cullercoats, and Littlehaven Beach were named among 17 UK sites with a ‘poor’ rating from the Environment Agency in the awards compiled by Holiday Park Guru.

The Brown Flag Awards are given to beaches that receive the lowest possible water quality rating based on Environment Agency data.

Despite the poor ratings for Cullercoats and Littlehaven, Tyne and Wear still boasts several highly rated beaches.

Which beaches received the highest ratings?

According to the Environment Agency’s 2026 water quality data, six beaches in the county achieved the top three-star ‘excellent’ rating:

• Marsden
• Roker
• Tynemouth King Edwards Bay
• Tynemouth Long Sands North
• Tynemouth Long Sands South

• Whitley Bay.

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Seaburn and South Shields both received a two-star ‘good’ rating.

No beaches in Tyne and Wear were rated ‘sufficient,’ but Cullercoats and Littlehaven received the lowest ‘poor’ rating.

The data was compiled as part of the Holiday Park Guru Brown Flag Awards, which identify the least desirable beaches for swimmers in the UK.

The victims were passengers of the MV Hondius

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The Foreign Office has issued a statement following a suspected outbreak of hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship that has left three people dead.

The victims were passengers of the MV Hondius which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Reports state that another person, who is a British national, is currently in intensive care.

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A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are closely monitoring reports of a potential hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship Hondius and stand ready to support British nationals if needed.

“We are in touch with the cruise company and local authorities.”

Hantavirus typically comes about following contact with urine or faeces from infected rodents.

In some cases, the virus can spread between people and lead to a dangerous respiratory illness.

South African authorities report the first person to show symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger who died on board. His body has since been transferred to the island of Saint Helena.

His 69-year-old wife also became ill during the voyage and was evacuated to South Africa, where she later died in a Johannesburg hospital. A 69-year-old British man was also evacuated to Johannesburg and is currently receiving treatment in intensive care.

The WHO said it is assisting with coordination between member states and the ship’s operator, including the medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, a full public health risk assessment, and support for those still on board.

Their full statement reads: “WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases.

“Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.

“Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing.

“Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure (exposure to infected rodents’ urine or faeces). While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response.

“WHO is facilitating coordination between member states and the ship’s operators for medical evacuation of two symptomatic passengers, as well as full public health risk assessment and support to the remaining passengers on board.

“WHO is grateful for the rapid actions and coordination amongst all involved.”

Hantavirus was in the news after the late actor Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus infection in New Mexico last year. Hackman died a week later at their home.

Wu made a scintillating start to the evening, having resumed at 4-4 after an afternoon session that was briefly interrupted by a female spectator jumping over the front-row barrier before referee Rob Spencer and security intervened to remove her.

Breaks of 82 and 103 gave him a two-frame advantage and while Murphy, who had earlier recovered from 3-0 down, hit back with a 72 it appeared as though he was struggling to stem the flow of his opponent.

Murphy, 43, who is aiming to set a new record for the longest gap between first and second titles, openly admitted that Wu had blasted him off the table at the Masters in January – albeit in a best-of-11 contest.

And having never won a match on his two visits to the Crucible prior to this year, Wu has so far has answered every question posed of him in the longer format.

New research has revealed a fresh connection to Mary Anning, the renowned 18th-century palaeontologist, through a drawing held in the archives of the Yorkshire Museum.

The unpublished illustration was uncovered during a study focused on Lyme Regis, Mary Anning, and the drawings and letters of Elizabeth Philpot.

The research team, led by Tom Sharpe, Hugh Torrens, and Dr Sarah King, traced the origins of the drawing to 1833, when Yorkshire woman Anne Wickham sent it to the museum’s keeper, John Phillips, along with a letter.

Dr King, curator of natural sciences at York Museums Trust, said: “The Yorkshire Museum has held Wickham’s drawing since 1833, but it has been unknown and unpublished for almost two centuries.

Anne Wickham’s Drawing of an Ichthyosaur Skull, 1833 (Image: York Museums Trust)

“Diligent research efforts have enabled us to track down the drawing and accompanying letter, which reveals more about the network of women interested in and writing about palaeontology in the eighteenth century.”

Wickham created the drawing using fossilised sepia ink, made from the ink sacs of fossilised cephalopods.

Her letter gives, for the first time, the recipe for reconstituting fossilised sepia for use as an ink, providing valuable insight into the other published drawings from Philpot’s collection.

The letter was found in the York Philosophical Society’s collection in the University of York’s Borthwick Archive.

Drawings in fossilised sepia ink have long been studied for their connection to Lyme Regis and subsequently Mary Anning.

The drawing and letter from Yorkshire confirm existing evidence about how this ink was obtained and provide new insight into the production of the sepia ink drawings.

Dr King said: “Research and exhibitions like this are a wonderful thing, celebrating women in science and recognising the importance of Anning to these practices of recording fossilised specimens.”

Mary Anning Rocks at the Yorkshire Museum (Image: Anthony Chappel Ross)

The Yorkshire Museum currently has an exhibition dedicated to Mary Anning and her pioneering efforts.

Tom Sharpe, a Mary Anning expert and a key figure in the research, added: “Working with different partners and institutions is always so exciting and rewarding, especially when a collective effort reveals something fascinating.

“Having worked with the Yorkshire Museum in the past on the Mary Anning Rocks! exhibition, it was a delight to discover more links to her and her livelihood within the Yorkshire Museum’s collection.

“Tracing the letter to the Borthwick Archives was also a special moment during the research process.

“The power of connections, museum archives and scientific networks has enabled this to come to light and solidify what we already know about the other sepia drawings and reveal more about the breadth of Anning’s influence on palaeontology.”

The full research paper is now available on the Yorkshire Museum’s website.

Three people have died and five others have been taken unwell after a suspected virus outbreak on a cruise ship sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.

One case of hantavirus has been confirmed, while one British national, aged 69, is in intensive care in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The outbreak was reported aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, which was travelling from Argentina to Cape Verde.

The MarineTraffic global shipping website identified the vessel as a Dutch-flagged passenger cruise ship. It located it as docked in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, on Sunday night.

South African authorities told the BBC the first person to show virus symptoms was a 70-year-old passenger who died on board. His body is now on the island of Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic.

His 69-year-old wife also became ill on board and was evacuated to South Africa, where she died in a Johannesburg hospital.

The World Health Organisation said that it was working with authorities to evacuate two other passengers with symptoms from the ship.

Hantavirus infections are typically linked to exposure to the feces or urine of infected rodents, WHO said.

While rare, WHO said they can be spread between people and they can lead to severe respiratory illness. There is no specific treatment or cure, but early medical attention can increase the chance of survival.

In a statement, they said: “WHO is aware of and supporting a public health event involving a cruise vessel sailing in the Atlantic Ocean. To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases. Of the six affected individuals, three have died and one is currently in intensive care in South Africa.

“Detailed investigations are ongoing, including further laboratory testing, and epidemiological investigations. Medical care and support are being provided to passengers and crew. Sequencing of the virus is also ongoing.

“Hantavirus infections are typically linked to environmental exposure (exposure to infected rodents’ urine or faeces). While rare, hantavirus may spread between people, and can lead to severe respiratory illness and requires careful patient monitoring, support and response.”

Hantavirus was in the news after the late actor Gene Hackman’s wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus infection in New Mexico last year. Hackman died a week later at their home.

The m/v Hondius is run by tour company Oceanwide Expeditions, described as the “first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel in the world, meeting the latest and highest Lloyd’s Register standards for ice-strengthened cruise ships.”

A FCDO spokesperson said: “We are closely monitoring reports of a potential hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship Hondius and stand ready to support British nationals if needed. We are in touch with the cruise company and local authorities.”

The Independent has contacted Oceanwide Expeditions for comment.