The news that Malvern's famous water has been reclassified as spring' rather than mineral' should not unduly trouble the millions of people around the world who drink it every day.

It is unlikely that the Queen, who reportedly prefers Malvern bottled water to any other, will start stocking another brand at Buckingham Palace.

And the people of Malvern, who fill up for free from the historic spa town's many ornate wells, will certainly not begin quaffing foreign interlopers such as Evian or Perrier as a result of the news.

Malvern water may have too many impurities to be classified as a natural mineral water' by the EU, but this is a technicality.

It simply means the Coca-Cola-owned bottling plant in Colwall contains extra filtration equipment, banned under the strict classification for natural mineral water, which must be filtered purely by the rocks through which it flows.

Meanwhile, the advice for the people who come from miles around to collect the water that emerges from the spouts of St Anne's Well and Hay Slad is the same as it has always been - boil before you drink.

Flowing through the rocks that lie deep beneath the hills, Malvern water embodies the taste of the area and, however it is classified, will always be the only one to drink as far as the people of Worcestershire and beyond are concerned.

It's a source of local pride and provides a fantastic, free alternative to those who aren't keen on the taste of the chlorinated stuff that comes out of the tap.

So carry on drinking.