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The water company is currently investigating after a vast number of contaminated plastic beads were found on Camber Sands beach, raising fears of a possible "environmental catastrophe".

These biobeads could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, according to a local MP, with concerns that rare sea life, including coastal birds, porpoises, and marine mammals, might ingest them and die.

A local official believes the pellets may have been released from a local filtration facility and has sent a letter to the top official, demanding an account.

Camber Sands, located in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, featuring rare dune habitat and vast stretches of golden sand.

Local helpers have been working urgently to remove the pellets, filling multiple sacks with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the contamination event is vast, and it is improbable they will be able to clear every piece.

A representative from a plastic pollution campaign group remarked over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever seen. It is contaminated plastic. Marine animals will consume small plastic items once they are in the sea; they will attract algae, they will appear edible, effectively."

"Once they’ve eaten it, there's no turning back: they cannot expel it. They will float on the surface. It will create a slick which draws in diving coastal birds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been exhausting. "Yesterday, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the timeline and the details for this devastating incident. It’s terrible."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a very long way off, the beach appears unaffected. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are millions dark beads, nestled under seaweed. It’s an unachievable mission – helpers have been raking for days, and they will keep at it, but we cannot remove every pellet. It is the most severe I have ever seen of a contaminated shoreline."

The elected official, who joined the removal work, remarked, "The huge number of polymer pellets that have washed up here risks an environmental catastrophe. These biobeads are deadly to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the beach."

"Local residents are laboring diligently to remove as many beads as possible, but it’s a urgent effort. Southern Water must urgently establish if their local wastewater plants could be the source of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to dedicate all available resources to supporting the clean-up operation in the meantime."

These pellets are also dangerous to canines as they hold a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to have carcinogenic properties, and they frequently include harmful substances such as lead, antimony, and chemical elements.

A spokesperson for the water company stated, "We are working closely with the regulatory body and local council to look into the source of polymer pellets which have washed up on the shoreline. This investigation work is still in progress."

"Local officials is leading the clean-up of the beach, using specialists with a vehicle with suction equipment to extract the beads. We are additionally assisting with the clean-up."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has revealed no effect to environmental water quality. These results has been provided with the district council and the regulatory body."

Regulatory officials has been contacted for comment.