E. coli was detected in the water off of Bettystown beach, Co Meath, where families and young children have been swimming during the warm weather.

But locals are furious that the presence of the bug was not widely publicized before Wednesday, the hottest day of the year.

Meath County Council was criticized yesterday for failing to put up large notices and not having staff at Bettystown beach notifying people that the water had elevated levels of E. coli and enterococci bacteria.

However, Meath County Council said that within an hour of getting the results of tests on the water that it erected a notice at the entrance to the beach and put it on its website.

But this was criticized by parents and politicians who said signage wasn’t obvious.

One mother, whose children had been in the sea on Wednesday afternoon, said she spent “all night worrying” about them.