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Southern Water is currently investigating after millions of polluted polymer pellets appeared on the shoreline at Camber, raising fears of a potential "ecological disaster".

These biobeads could have a dire impact on marine life, according to a local MP, with concerns that protected marine species, including seabirds, porpoises, and marine mammals, might ingest them and perish.

A local official suspects the pellets may have been released from a nearby water treatment centre and has sent a letter to the top official, requesting an explanation.

Camber Sands, situated in the southeastern region, is a highly popular shoreline, featuring rare dune habitat and vast stretches of fine grains.

Volunteers have been racing against time to remove the beads, collecting multiple sacks with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the contamination event is immense, and it is unlikely they will be able to clear every piece.

A representative from a plastic pollution campaign group remarked recently, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever seen. It is contaminated plastic. Sea creatures will consume small plastic items once they are in the ocean; they will draw in microorganisms, they will smell like food, in essence."

"Once they’ve eaten it, that’s it: they can’t get it out. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which draws in plunging seabirds."

The expert continued that the clean-up efforts have been exhausting. "Recently, I was out there removing the debris. We are trying to really piece together the timeline and the details 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 millions black pellets, hidden among marine plants. It’s an impossible task – volunteers have been raking for days, and they will continue to rake, but we won’t be able to get rid of them all. It is the most severe I have ever seen of a polluted beach."

The elected official, who participated in the removal work, remarked, "The immense quantity of polymer pellets that have appeared on this shore threatens an environmental catastrophe. These biobeads are deadly to marine life and wildlife, and we are already seeing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the coast."

"Local residents are working tirelessly to remove as many beads as possible, but it’s a race against time. The water company must quickly determine if their nearby treatment facilities could be the source of these pellets, 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 significant amount of PAHs, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they often contain toxins including heavy metals, antimony, and chemical elements.

An official representative for the water company said, "We are collaborating with the Environment Agency and local council to investigate the source of plastic beads which have washed up on Camber Beach. This investigation work is ongoing."

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

"We’ve conducted environmental testing on the beach, which has shown no impact to environmental water quality. These results has been provided with the district council and the regulatory body."

The Environment Agency has been contacted for a statement.