WEYMOUTH beach has been named one of the best in the UK.

Three Dorset beaches have made it into the top 10 of the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Beaches Awards which has been revealed today.

Weymouth came in at number seven, while Hengistbury Head was named fourth best beach and Sandbanks in Poole was named number nine.

Visitors and residents were out in force at the weekend soaking up the sunshine on Weymouth Beach.

Mayor Ray Banham, pictured inset, was one of them.

He said: “I am very glad these awards have recognised the fact that we have got one of the best beaches in the country.

“Our lovely beach gets an award nearly every year, which just shows how much people love it.

“This is the sort of good news we could do with and the more people we can get into Weymouth, contributing to our economy, the better.

“I was out on Sunday at a café on the seafront and the beach was crowded.

“And a lot of those people were visitors which was great to see.

“This can only foretell good things for the future.”

Council tourism spokesman Ian Bruce said: “The beach is enjoyed all year round by residents and holidaymakers alike and is often regarded as one of the jewels in the borough’s crown.”

Britain has three beaches in the top 10 of Europe, with Rhossili Bay in the Gower taking third place and also being named number one in the UK.

But Baia do Sancho in Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha, was crowned the number one beach in the world.

James Kay, from TripAdvisor, said: “These awards recognise the best beaches in the UK and worldwide, according to the travellers that have visited and given them the highest levels of praise.

“To have three British beaches named among the best in Europe just goes to show how lucky we are in the UK to have such stunning scenery right on our doorstep.”

It is not the first time Weymouth beach has been recognised as one of the nicest in the country.

Last December, TripAdvisor gave the beach a Travellers’ Choice Award. It also retained its Keep Britain Tidy Blue Flag Award last year.

The Top 10

1. Rhossili Bay, Gower, Wales

2. Woolacombe Beach, Woolacombe, Devon

3. Porthminster Beach, St Ives, Cornwall

4. Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth, Dorset

5. Perranporth Beach, Perranporth, Cornwall

6. Longsands Beach, Tynemouth, North Tyneside

7. Weymouth Beach, Weymouth, Dorset

8. Fistral Beach, Newquay, Cornwall

9. Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset

10. Nairn Beach, Nairn, Scotland