It may not have a lot of sand but Brighton’s beach is one of the best in the world according to a new study.

Brighton beach is just behind the famed sandy stretches of Rio De Janeiro’s Ipanema Beach, Bondi Beach in Sydney and Waikiki beach in Honolulu according to American broadcaster CNN.

The city’s seafront was praised for its “hip urban energy” with plenty of flesh on display by way of “visual stimulus” and blessed with superb eating, drinking and nightclubs.

Worldwide visitors were warned though that the beach “slopes steeply” into the sea and the lack of a Blue Flag status for the seawater.