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The water company is currently investigating after millions of contaminated plastic beads appeared on the shoreline at Camber, sparking fears of a potential "ecological disaster".

These biobeads could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, according to a local MP, with concerns that rare sea life, such as seabirds, porpoises, and marine mammals, might consume them and perish.

The area's representative believes the beads may have been spilled from a local filtration facility and has sent a letter to the water company's chief executive, requesting an explanation.

Camber Sands, located in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, known for rare dune habitat and expansive areas of golden sand.

Volunteers have been racing against time to remove the beads, collecting dozens of bags with the plastic waste, but the extent 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 over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever witnessed. It is contaminated plastic. Sea creatures will ingest small plastic items once they are in the sea; they will attract algae, they will smell like food, in essence."

"After ingestion, that’s it: they cannot expel it. They will remain buoyant. It will form a layer which draws in diving coastal birds."

The expert continued that the clean-up efforts have been exhausting. "Yesterday, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to really piece together the sequence of events and the details for this horrendous event. It’s awful."

"They are so small that from a a distance, the beach looks normal. But as soon as you approach closely, you see there are countless black pellets, nestled under seaweed. It’s an impossible task – helpers have been working tirelessly, 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 joined the clean-up efforts, remarked, "The immense quantity of plastic beads that have appeared on this shore threatens an ecological disaster. These plastic items are lethal to marine life and wildlife, and we are already seeing increased mortality among marine species on the beach."

"Local residents are laboring diligently 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 origin of these pellets, and I’ve requested to commit every possible asset to supporting the clean-up operation in the interim."

These pellets are additionally hazardous to dogs as they hold a high number of PAHs, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they frequently include harmful substances including heavy metals, antimony, and chemical elements.

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

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

"We have performed environmental testing on the beach, which has revealed no effect to environmental water quality. These results has been provided with the local authorities and the Environment Agency."

Regulatory officials has been contacted for comment.