Water chiefs say sewage leaking from damaged pipes could be a source of pollution which has plagued a seafront for years.
Since 2018 water quality at Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside has been given the lowest possible rating by the Environment Agency (EA), which tests for contamination from bacteria linked to human and animal faeces.
Northumbrian Water has long blamed polluted groundwater for the beach's low score but for years, alongside others including the EA and North Tyneside Council, has been unable to get to the root of the problem.
But the water company now says it may have identified and fixed a source of the sewage leaks which had been causing the contamination.
Northumbrian Water said it had discovered damaged private and public pipework, as well as incorrectly fitted household pipes on Beverley Terrace, during recent survey and excavation work.
It said it suspected the pipes had leaked sewage into the ground, contaminating groundwater which then seeped into the bay.
