Bathers and paddleboarders took a dip in Dartmouth’s Warfleet Creek last weekend to help it become a designated bathing site.

Water users were counted for the Friends of the River Dart’s campaign to clean up the river.

Friends of the Dart is a grassroots community group working towards applying for designated bathing water status at four locations along the River Dart – Dartmouth’s Warfleet Creek, Dittisham, Stoke Gabriel and Totnes’ Steamer Quay. If bathing water status is achieved, wastewater treatment plants will be updated and spills reduced in these popular areas.

Under new DEFRA rules a designated site needs more than 100 people counted in the water area, on two summer days, during a four-hour time period. Hence the count at Warfleet Creek.

Cllr Ben Cooper, South Hams District Councillor for Dartmouth and East Dart, was at Warfleet on Sunday. He said: “Thanks to everyone who came and had a swim or paddle. We got 240 into the water today - the hard work starts now to get Warfleet Creek designated as a bathing site. I ran for councillor on a pledge to do what I could to help clean up the River Dart. That’s why I’ve been working with Friends of the River Dart, Dartmouth Town Council and Dart Harbour to get areas along the River Dart designated as bathing water. Big thanks to Dartmouth Town Cllrs Liz Moseley and Kim Sturgess, and volunteers Gail and Nicola who helped collect the names at Warfleet.”