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The water company is currently investigating after millions of polluted polymer pellets appeared on Camber Sands beach, raising worries of a possible "ecological disaster".

These biobeads could have a dire impact on marine life, according to a regional representative, with concerns that protected marine species, such as coastal birds, small cetaceans, and marine mammals, might consume them and perish.

A local official suspects the pellets may have been released from a local filtration facility and has sent a letter to the water company's chief executive, demanding an explanation.

This coastal area, located in East Sussex, is one of England’s most beloved beaches, featuring unique sandy ecosystems and vast stretches of fine grains.

Local helpers have been racing against time to clear the pellets, collecting dozens of bags with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the pollution spill is vast, and it is unlikely they will be able to remove all of them.

An expert from a plastic pollution campaign group commented over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever witnessed. It is polluted polymer. Marine animals will ingest small plastic items once they are in the ocean; they will draw in microorganisms, they will smell like food, effectively."

"After ingestion, that’s it: they can’t get it out. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which attracts diving coastal birds."

He added that the removal work have been draining. "Yesterday, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to really piece together the timeline and the story for this devastating incident. It’s awful."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a very long way off, the beach looks normal. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are countless dark beads, hidden among marine plants. It’s an unachievable mission – volunteers 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 encountered of a contaminated shoreline."

The elected official, who participated in the removal work, remarked, "The huge number of plastic beads that have appeared on this shore threatens an ecological disaster. These plastic items are lethal to ocean and land animals, and we are observing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the coast."

"Local residents are working tirelessly to remove as many pellets as possible, but it’s a race against time. The water company must quickly determine if their nearby treatment facilities could be the origin of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to dedicate all available resources to supporting the clean-up operation in the interim."

The beads are also dangerous to dogs as they hold a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are recognized for carcinogenic properties, and they frequently include toxins such as lead, antimony, and bromine.

An official representative for Southern Water stated, "We are working closely with the Environment Agency 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."

"Local officials is leading the clean-up of the shore, using specialists with a vehicle with suction equipment to extract the beads. We are also supporting with the removal process."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has shown no impact to environmental water quality. This data has been shared with the district council and the regulatory body."

The Environment Agency has been reached out to for a statement.