A beach previously dubbed as Norfolk's most noxious has cleaned up its act... and lowered its faeces-themed flag.
Heacham garnered fame for all the wrong reasons at the Brown Flag Awards, a tongue-in-cheek event that highlights poor water quality at English beaches.
So-called winners are offered an unflattering poo emoji flag to fly by the sands, warning would-be bathers about pollution, an opportunity which most beaches turn down.
But now Heacham can officially lower its hypothetical flag as its rating has been upgraded from "poor" to "sufficient" for the 2026 season.
Organisers from HolidayParkGuru.co.uk made the decision based on new Environment Agency data.
Robbie Lane, a sea swimmer and representative of HolidayParkGuru.co.uk, said: "Congratulations are due then to Heacham, which has managed to wipe away its Brown Flag status.
"On top of that, four out of five of Norfolk’s beaches are now rated as excellent, which is well above the national average.
"There’s still work to do, but Norfolk seems to be heading in the right direction.
"Hopefully other counties can follow its lead – and avoid being top of the plops."
Norfolk now ranks fourth in England for clean bathing water, with 81pc of its beaches rated as "excellent," up from eighth place last year.
Several beaches along the Norfolk coast saw improvements.
Heacham was upgraded from "poor" to "sufficient," Hunstanton Main Beach and Old Hunstanton both went from "sufficient" to "good," while Wells and Caister climbed from "good" to "excellent."
Nationally, 68pc of English beaches now meet the "excellent" standard, up from 66.5pc last year.
At the current pace of improvement, every beach in England won't reach the top rating until 2047.
The awards ceremony purposefully coincides with the May bank holiday, when many families head to the coast for seaside breaks.
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