'Get out of the sea' tannoy warning sounded at Welsh beach as children and adults enjoy gorgeous sunshine

People were ordered out of the water at one of Wales' best known beaches because of concerns about the "water quality". Hundreds of families were enjoying the spell of warm weather on the beach at Barry Island when they were told to get out of the water on Saturday afternoon, May 18.

The Gwyl Fach y Fro, an annual festival featuring music, street entertainment, craft stalls and food and drink, was taking place at the time and the good weather had attracted the crowds, so the beach was busy with people enjoying music by Vale school children and stars like Sage Todz.

But some families reported that around 4pm there was a 'water quality' tannoy announcement asking everyone to come out of the sea because there had been an alert saying it was not safe to swim. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter

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It came after a charity issued a warning that 19 beach and seafront destinations in Wales had been polluted by storm sewage or given a poor water classification. Surfers Against Sewage, one of the UK's most successful marine conservation and campaigning charities, published the alerts on its website.

There was also one for the beach at Barry Island that said: ""Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours. The bay is a sandy 700m cove located, west of Barry Docks and Jackson´s Bay. It faces south towards the Bristol Channel, backed by the dock area and the town of Barry. Seaside shops can be found in the immediate foreground, with limestone cliffs on either side and headlands called Friars Point to the west and Nell´s Point to the east." Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news

Hayley Graham, from Barry, went to the beach with her children aged eight and one after the festival. Her youngest daughter was in the water when they heard the tannoy announcement to get out.

She said: "We were so shocked when we heard the announcement. We know that there can be issues with sewage on the beach but you do not expect it on a warm and sunny weekend. There was a lot of confusion and upset. We took the children home and scrubbed them because they had been fully immersed in the water. Even the smallest amount of raw sewage in the water is enough."

One parent said: "It’s so embarrassing that this happened during a high profile cultural event when people were cooling off on a hot day as they enjoyed the festival." Another said: "Lifeguards at Barry Island just told everyone to get out of the water due to low water quality."

Dwr Cymru/ Welsh Water said it had not issued any safety alerts for the area. We have approached the Vale of Glamorgan Council and Natural Resources Wales for a comment.