BLACKPOOL'S beaches could leave the town's name and reputation in the mud -- by costing the country as much as £20,000 a day in fines if they don't meet with strict EU guidelines.

As if that weren't enough for the resort to contend with, the possibility of an impending legal battle is preventing top European Commissioner Margot Wallstrom from visiting the town to take part in vital talks to tackle this very problem.

Officials from the Environment Agency and North West Water invited the Environment Commissioner to join discussions regarding the difficulties the resort is facing in complying with the EU Bathing Water Directive.

But she told Liberal Democrat Euro MP Chris Davies that, with Britain in the dock and facing the possibility of being heavily fined by the European Court of Justice, she will not be visiting to avoid prejudicing the legal process.

Mr Davies went on to explain the significance of this serious issue. "I want the commissioner to understand exactly how much money and time has been spent here and we shouldn't be bracketed with other countries in Europe who are neglecting their duties to clean up their beaches.

"It is the beaches along Blackpool and the Fylde Coast that are the problem and holding up the process at present, even though they are the best quality they have ever been.

"If we can meet the directive, court proceedings will be suspended and we will have to keep up the standard, which is all good news, environmentally speaking.

"However, if we don't pass it will come to the crunch in a couple of years and we could end up with a heavy fine like Greece did. They were fined £20,000 a day until their water met the directive.

"In short, we are facing a real cliiffhanger here and the difference between Britain meeting the obligations or failing to do so might now be no more than a single heavy rainstorm sweeping chemicals and muck off the streets and the fields into the sea."

Head of Tourism Jane Seddon was also asked her views on the commissioner's decision. She said: "I can understand the position she is facing. However, the North West has worked very hard to comply with the directive. In particular, work by the Environment Agency and North West Water has meant that four out of five of Blackpool's beaches now comply.

"It is vital in order to ensure total compliance that all partners are present and therefore I do hope that someone from the EU agency would be able to continue these vital talks."

Britain strongly supported the introduction of a European law on bathing water and after a slow start North West Water has spent some £600 million over the past ten years to improve its treatment of sewage.

As a result, Environment Agency officials claim that the quality of bathing water between Southport and Fleetwood is now the best ever recorded.

But, although the standards have greatly improved and measurements taken at nine test sites along this stretch of coast suggest that water quality is within a whisper of meeting the EU legal requirements, Britain and several other countries are being taken to court for non-compliance and face the prospect of heavy fines.

A spokesman from the Environment Agency commented: "It is unfortunate that the commissioner is unable to come but we understand her reasons with regards to the legalities involved."