The Blue Flag will be hoisted above Pendine's historic beach for the first time at 11 am on July 23. Keep Wales Tidy have announced the chequered flag waving historic land speed setting beach will join Cefn Sidan, Pembrey, in the premier league of beaches serving Carmarthenshire flying prestigious Blue Flags. In the hope that summer finally arrives, the council is providing a new beach lifeguard service at Pendine from Saturday, July 21, to coincide with the school summer holidays. The service will be provided from 10 am to 5.30 pm each day and this service will run up to and including Monday, September 3. Council parks manager Neil Parry said: "The Pendine ranger team have worked hard to put in place vital measures to secure Blue Flag status. These include safety informative signage, dog control, vehicle control, litter collection and a lifeguard patrolled area which will be denoted by appropriate flags. "All users of the beach should bathe within this area which is supervised by the beach lifeguards." Carmarthenshire County Council executive board member for leisure services, Clr. Clive Scourfield, said: "It is a glorious first Blue Flag honour for Pendine. "I am sure with the ranger's regime it will be the first of a sequence of awards for the beach that is sure to attract more visitors." "Carmarthenshire has a relatively small coastline considering its size, but now we are able to fly the prestigious flag over the beaches that cover much of its length. "It is the 15th time in 18 years that Cefn Sidan has achieved this honour, over which time it has been consistently ranked at the top of the table of Wales' visitor attractions. "The Blue Flags reflect great credit on the hard working council staff and their disciplined environmental management because the beaches are critically judged against a total of 29 criteria before they are able to fly the flag."
