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The water company is currently investigating after millions of polluted polymer pellets were found on the shoreline at Camber, raising worries of a possible "environmental catastrophe".

The plastic pellets could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, as stated by a local MP, with apprehensions that rare sea life, including seabirds, porpoises, and marine mammals, might consume them and die.

A local official suspects the beads may have been spilled from a nearby water treatment centre and has sent a letter to the water company's chief executive, demanding an explanation.

Camber Sands, located in East Sussex, is one of England’s most beloved beaches, known for unique sandy ecosystems and expansive areas of fine grains.

Volunteers have been racing against time to clear the beads, filling multiple sacks with the synthetic debris, but the extent of the pollution spill is immense, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

An expert from a environmental organization commented over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever seen. It is contaminated plastic. Sea creatures will ingest tiny synthetic pieces once they are in the ocean; they will draw in microorganisms, they will appear edible, effectively."

"Once they’ve eaten it, that’s it: they can’t get it out. They will remain buoyant. It will form a layer which attracts diving coastal birds."

The expert continued that the removal work have been draining. "Yesterday, I was out there cleaning it up. We are trying to really piece together the sequence of events and the story for this horrendous event. It’s terrible."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a a distance, the beach looks normal. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are countless black pellets, nestled under seaweed. It’s an unachievable mission – helpers have been working tirelessly, and they will keep at it, but we cannot remove every pellet. It is the worst I have ever seen of a polluted beach."

The elected official, who participated in the clean-up efforts, remarked, "The immense quantity of plastic beads that have washed up here threatens an ecological disaster. These plastic items are deadly to marine life and wildlife, and we are observing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the beach."

"Community members are working tirelessly to clear away as many pellets as possible, but it’s a race against time. The water company must urgently establish if their nearby treatment facilities could be the origin of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to commit every possible asset to supporting the clean-up operation in the interim."

These pellets are also dangerous to dogs as they hold a significant amount of PAHs, which are known to have carcinogenic properties, and they often contain toxins such as heavy metals, antimony, and bromine.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said, "We are working closely with the Environment Agency and district authorities to investigate 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 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 shown no impact to environmental water quality. These results has been shared with the district council and the Environment Agency."

The Environment Agency has been contacted for a statement.