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

These biobeads could have a dire impact on marine life, as stated by a regional representative, with concerns that rare sea life, such as seabirds, small cetaceans, and seals, might ingest 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 top official, demanding an account.

This coastal area, situated in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, known for rare dune habitat and vast stretches of fine grains.

Volunteers have been racing against time to remove the pellets, filling dozens of bags with the plastic waste, but the scale of the contamination event is immense, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

A representative 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. Sea creatures will ingest tiny synthetic pieces once they are in the sea; they will draw in microorganisms, they will appear edible, in essence."

"After ingestion, there's no turning back: they cannot expel it. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which attracts diving coastal birds."

He added that the removal work have been exhausting. "Recently, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and the details for this horrendous event. It’s terrible."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a a distance, the shoreline appears unaffected. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are countless dark beads, hidden among marine plants. It’s an impossible task – helpers have been raking for days, and they will continue to rake, but we cannot remove every pellet. It is the most severe I have ever seen of a contaminated shoreline."

The elected official, who participated in the removal work, stated, "The immense quantity of polymer pellets that have washed up here threatens an environmental catastrophe. These biobeads are deadly to marine life and wildlife, and we are already seeing increased mortality among marine species on the coast."

"Community members are working tirelessly to remove as many pellets as possible, but it’s a race against time. Southern Water must urgently establish if their nearby treatment facilities could be the source of these biobeads, and I’ve asked them to commit every possible asset to supporting the clean-up operation in the meantime."

The beads are also dangerous to canines as they hold a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are recognized for cancer-causing traits, and they frequently include harmful substances including lead, antimony, and bromine.

A spokesperson for the water company stated, "We are collaborating with the Environment Agency and local council to look into the cause of plastic beads which have been deposited on Camber Beach. This investigation work is still in progress."

"The district council is leading the clean-up of the shore, using specialists with a specialized machinery to extract the pellets. We are also supporting with the removal process."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has shown no impact to the aquatic environment. These results has been shared with the district council and the Environment Agency."

Regulatory officials has been reached out to for comment.