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Southern Water 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 have a dire impact on marine life, as stated by a local MP, with concerns that rare sea life, such as coastal birds, small cetaceans, and marine mammals, might ingest them and perish.

The area's representative believes the pellets may have been spilled from a nearby water treatment centre and has sent a letter to the top official, requesting an explanation.

Camber Sands, situated in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, featuring rare dune habitat and expansive areas of fine grains.

Volunteers have been racing against time to remove the beads, collecting multiple sacks with the plastic waste, but the extent of the contamination event is vast, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

An expert from a environmental organization remarked over the weekend, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever seen. It is contaminated plastic. Sea creatures will consume tiny synthetic pieces once they are in the ocean; they will attract algae, they will appear edible, effectively."

"After ingestion, there's no turning back: they can’t get it out. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which attracts plunging seabirds."

The expert continued that the clean-up efforts have been exhausting. "Recently, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the timeline and the details 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 millions black pellets, nestled under seaweed. 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 local MP, who participated in the removal work, stated, "The huge number of plastic beads that have washed up here threatens an ecological disaster. These biobeads are deadly to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the beach."

"Community members are laboring diligently to clear away as many pellets as possible, but it’s a race against time. The water company must quickly determine if their local wastewater plants could be the source of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the meantime."

These pellets are also dangerous to canines as they hold a high number of PAHs, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they often contain harmful substances including heavy metals, antimony, and bromine.

An official representative for the water company said, "We are working closely with the regulatory body and district authorities to investigate the cause of plastic beads which have been deposited on Camber Beach. The inquiry is ongoing."

"The district council is leading the clean-up of the shore, using trained personnel with a vehicle with suction equipment to extract the pellets. We are additionally assisting with the clean-up."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the coast, 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 comment.