We need answers as to what made the Sunderland triathletes sick

It is disappointing, even embarrassing, for Sunderland that its guests from around the world are falling ill after boarding a Blue Flag beach.

What does this say about the testing standard that confers Blue Flag status?

Northumbrian Water said there had been no discharges from its network that would affect water quality, yet sampling by the Environment Agency three days before the event revealed ecoli levels were 39 times higher than usual, albeit in one stretch of water , which was not used by Northumbrian Water Float. So was there a storm runoff from a farmer using manure, or was there just a polluted patch of polluted water floating around in the sea?

We really need explanations as this doesn’t make any sense – but it makes people angry. The quality of the water in our rivers and on our beaches will be a campaign issue.

And of course for the North East there follows the other North Sea story that has stuck in the minds of potential visitors: the still unexplained die-off of large numbers of crustaceans from Hartlepool to Whitby, despite two enquiries.

There is no evidence that the two events are related, but they paint a horrific picture: marine life dies and human life becomes ill when exposed to our sea. I wish you were here?

The irony is that County Durham has spent millions and decades turning the tide – cleaning up the beaches after the pollution from the mining years. Now we have miles of beautiful sand, but not water safe enough for the world’s top athletes to splash in. How sad!