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

These biobeads could cause severe harm on marine life, as stated by a local MP, with apprehensions that protected marine species, including seabirds, small cetaceans, and seals, might ingest them and perish.

A local official suspects the beads may have been released from a local filtration facility and has written to the top official, demanding an explanation.

Camber Sands, located in the southeastern region, is a highly popular shoreline, featuring rare dune habitat and expansive areas of golden sand.

Local helpers have been working urgently to clear the pellets, filling dozens of bags with the plastic waste, but the scale of the contamination event is vast, and it is unlikely they will be able to clear every piece.

An expert from a plastic pollution campaign group remarked recently, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever seen. It is polluted polymer. Sea creatures will ingest small plastic items once they are in the sea; they will attract algae, they will appear edible, in essence."

"After ingestion, there's no turning back: they cannot expel it. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which draws in plunging seabirds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been draining. "Recently, I was on site removing the debris. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and the story for this horrendous event. It’s terrible."

"They are so small that from a very long way off, the beach looks normal. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are countless black pellets, hidden among marine plants. It’s an unachievable mission – volunteers have been working tirelessly, and they will keep at it, but we won’t be able to get rid of them all. It is the most severe I have ever encountered of a polluted beach."

The local MP, who participated in the clean-up efforts, stated, "The huge number of polymer pellets that have washed up here threatens an ecological disaster. These plastic items are lethal to marine life and wildlife, and we are observing increased mortality among marine species on the beach."

"Community members are working tirelessly to remove as many beads as possible, but it’s a race against time. Southern Water must quickly determine if their nearby treatment facilities could be the source of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the meantime."

The beads are additionally hazardous to canines as they hold a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are recognized for cancer-causing traits, and they often contain harmful substances including lead, antimony, and bromine.

An official representative for Southern Water stated, "We are collaborating with the regulatory body and local council to look into the cause of polymer pellets which have been deposited on the shoreline. This investigation work is still in progress."

"The district council is overseeing removal of the beach, using specialists with a specialized machinery to extract the pellets. We are additionally assisting with the clean-up."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has shown no impact to environmental water quality. These results has been shared with the local authorities and the Environment Agency."

Regulatory officials has been contacted for comment.