British beaches, bays and lakes have achieved record levels of cleanliness amid a surge in the popularity of wild swimming.

Of the 420 places where you can take an outdoor dip in England, 300 were ranked as having 'excellent' water quality, according to an annual report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

This is the best rating the country has received since the records system began in 2015.

The impressive ranking comes after recent figures revealed that the number of people regularly swimming in wild waters increased from 266,500 to 490,660 between 2016 and 2018.

Defra's report highlights that almost all swimming spots achieved at least the minimum standards for clean water, with 71.4 per cent achieving the 'excellent' standard (compared with 63.6 per cent in 2015) and 21.9 per cent categorised as 'good'.