ACTION is being taken to address the 'blips' in water quality on Windermere which resulted in two of the lake's bathing water sites last year failing to meet stringent European standards.

Tests carried out at Fellfoot and Lakeside YMCA between May and September last year revealed higher levels of bacteria than required by the European Commission.

A third bathing water site at Millerground met the required standards but the adverse publicity following the

failures prompted Tim Collins, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, to call an emergency summit to discuss the problem.

Terry Hindle, the EA's team leader for south Cumbria, told the meeting that 20 samples were taken from each site over the summer months, and if two showed a higher level of bacteria than allowed, the site failed overall for that year.

He reported that a sample taken from Fellfoot in May this year had already exceeded the mandatory bacterial levels, meaning only one more failure would mean the site would not meet the standard again.

He said that a close eye was being kept on that site to ensure this didn't happen.

Mr Hindle added that DEFRA was under pressure from the European Commission to continue to meet bathing water standards nationally as it faced fines of up to £25 million if it didn't.

Mr Collins has since written to environment minister Michael Meacher calling for money to be made available to help carry sewerage improvement work, which would be of benefit to Windermere, but would also help ensure that the European targets were met.

Paul Tiplady, of the Lake District National Park Authority, agreed this money should be forthcoming as part of a package of help for the area which was still battling against foot-and-mouth, and as a fitting way for the Government to contribute to the park's 50th anniversary.