No swimming here!

The beaches along Cannes coast line are known for their golden sands not polluted waters

A total of five beaches on Boulevard du Midi have been closed amid fears that the dirty, unsafe water could cause injury or infection to swimmers. It is unclear where the pollution started but a team of water experts have been called in today to analyse samples from the Mediterranean.

This is not the first time people have raised concerns about the healthiness of Cannes' beaches. At the beginning of this year's Cannes Film Festival, the Mediterranean in Danger association released a number of worrying videos of the sea floor just 100 metres from the sandy shore.

The bottom of the bay is littered with discarded drink cans, cigarettes stubs and trapped plastic bags. Not only a problem for the environment and water safety levels, this level of pollution is having a direct impact of the thousands of underwater organisms living in the region.

The move comes just days after a record number of beaches were awarded the coveted Blue Flag in the Alpes Maritimes.

Elsa Carpenter