Beach resort proves it is king of the castles

It was a race against time to create as many sandcastles as possible within an hour, with officials from Guinness World Records waiting to make the final count yesterday.

These were sandcastles made to measure: each had to be 2ft high and 2ft wide, with a turret on top, and had to be stable enough to stand for at least an hour after construction.

Although final figures for the number of participants and castles have not yet been revealed, Yorkshire Water, which organised the event, confirmed the record had been broken.

It was part of the company’s “Coast to Boast About” initiative, which will see £110m invested in waste water facilities along the coast. With support from the Environment Agency, the Rural Affairs Forum and Welcome to Yorkshire, it aims to ensure bathing waters achieve a top score when new bathing water standards come into effect in 2015.

Andrew Williams, Scarborough Borough Council’s leisure manager, said: “The record breaking attempt is about being the best and achieving the highest standards possible.

“This mirrors the aim of the Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership, which is to strive for the best bathing waters in Europe.”

Steve Pace, bathing water manager at Yorkshire Water, added: “This event was about giving our customers the chance to be part of their very own record breaking attempt, whilst also enabling them to come down to the beach to find out more about the work we and our partners are doing.”