Southern Water has denied responsibility after Brighton beach lost its Blue Flag status due to water quality.

A stretch of the beach near the Palace Pier, known as Brighton Central, lost the internationally recognised title after the quality of water was downgraded in November last year.

Brighton and Hove City Council said the Environment Agency reduced Brighton Central beach’s water quality classification from "excellent" to "good", making the beach ineligible to retain its Blue Flag status.

However, Southern Water said there had been no storm overflow releases that would have affected bathing waters in Brighton.

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A spokesman for Southern Water said: “We are disappointed that Brighton has lost its Blue Flag status.

“There were no releases from Southern Water’s storm overflows which would have an impact on Brighton’s bathing waters last year.”

Hove Lawns beach retained its Blue Flag status, given to well-managed beaches around the world.

A total of 77 beaches across England met the high standard required for the Blue Flag award, including three in Sussex.

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy announced the English winners of the awards for this summer.

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of the charity, said: “Visitors to a beach flying a Blue Flag award can be assured the beach will be clean, safe and meet the highest environmental standards as well as international bathing water quality standards.

“The Blue Flag is the world’s most recognised award for beaches and marinas and in order to qualify each applicant must meet and maintain a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria.

“The collective efforts of beach managers, volunteers, residents and businesses all contribute to the success of these sites in achieving the incredibly high standards demanded.”

It comes as Southern Water boss Lawrence Gosden apologised for not addressing sewage spills across Sussex with greater urgency and announced he will forfeit his bonus this year.

He said: “At Southern Water, we’re already working to reduce the number of storm overflows, investing significant money to build bigger infrastructure and redesign a legacy Victorian sewer system as well as using innovative technology and natural solutions.”