Doncaster is named in top three UK towns with highest levels of fluoride in tap water

New studies show that the town ranks only behind Birmingham and Tyneside when it comes to the amount of fluoride coming out of the town’s taps.

Hydration firm ViDrate analysed tap water across the UK in its Water Index to reveal where has the worst water issues, the most added fluoride and why our water tastes different from region to region.

Fluoride is added to some water in the UK to prevent tooth decay as an effective measure to improve the UK’s oral health - though it has been met with some resistance.

Despite its controversy research has shown there are 50% less hospital admissions for tooth decay in fluoridated areas among children aged one to four.

The hardness - or softness - of your tap water determines its taste and texture as hard water has a high mineral content including calcium, magnesium and iron creating a distinct ‘flavour’ that some dislike.

70% of cities have hard water - including Ipswich, London and Bristol.

Northern cities have the softest water - which is perhaps why they’re famed for a good old cup of tea!

ViDrate is looking for the UK’s worst tap water – and the winner will win a year's supply of ViDrate to improve the taste of their water for a whole year that’s worth over £175.

All that’s needed is a picture of your tap water, three words to describe its taste and to submit all of this on ViDrate’s competition page.

The link to enter the competition with all the terms and conditions is HERE

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in water in varying amounts, depending on where in the UK you live.

Most water supplies contain some fluoride and in the early 20th century, levels of tooth decay were found to be associated with fluoride levels in drinking water.

This led to the introduction of schemes to add fluoride to water supplies to improve dental health.

Community water fluoridation schemes have operated for more than 70 years; the first scheme was introduced in the US in 1945. The first substantive UK scheme was established in Birmingham in 1964.