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Southern Water is currently investigating after millions of contaminated plastic beads appeared on Camber Sands beach, raising fears of a possible "ecological disaster".

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

A local official believes the pellets may have been released from a local filtration facility and has written to the water company's chief executive, demanding an account.

Camber Sands, situated in the southeastern region, is a highly popular shoreline, featuring unique sandy ecosystems and expansive areas of golden sand.

Volunteers have been racing against time to clear the pellets, collecting multiple sacks with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the contamination event is vast, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

An expert from a plastic pollution campaign group remarked over the weekend, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever witnessed. It is polluted polymer. Marine animals will consume small plastic items once they are in the sea; they will attract algae, they will smell like food, effectively."

"Once they’ve eaten it, there's no turning back: they can’t get it out. They will remain buoyant. It will form a layer which attracts plunging seabirds."

He added that the removal work have been exhausting. "Recently, I was out there removing the debris. 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 very long way off, the shoreline looks normal. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are millions black pellets, nestled under seaweed. It’s an unachievable mission – volunteers have been working tirelessly, and they will keep at it, but we won’t be able to get rid of them all. It is the most severe I have ever encountered of a contaminated shoreline."

The elected official, who joined the clean-up efforts, stated, "The huge number of plastic beads that have appeared on this shore risks an environmental catastrophe. These biobeads are deadly to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing increased mortality among marine species on the beach."

"Local residents are laboring diligently to remove as many pellets as possible, but it’s a urgent effort. Southern Water must quickly determine if their nearby treatment facilities could be the source of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the meantime."

The beads are also dangerous to dogs as they contain a significant amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they frequently include harmful substances such as heavy metals, antimony, and bromine.

An official representative for Southern Water said, "We are working closely with the Environment Agency and district authorities to investigate the cause of polymer pellets which have washed up on Camber Beach. The inquiry is still in progress."

"Local officials is leading the clean-up of the beach, using trained personnel with a vehicle with suction equipment to remove the beads. We are also supporting 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 local authorities and the regulatory body."

Regulatory officials has been reached out to for a statement.