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Southern Water is currently investigating after a vast number of contaminated plastic beads were found on Camber Sands beach, raising fears of a possible "environmental catastrophe".

These biobeads could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, according to a regional representative, with concerns that rare sea life, including coastal birds, porpoises, and seals, might ingest them and perish.

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

Camber Sands, located in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, known for unique sandy ecosystems and vast stretches of fine grains.

Local helpers have been racing against time to remove the beads, collecting multiple sacks with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the pollution spill is vast, and it is unlikely they will be able to remove all of them.

A representative from a plastic pollution campaign group commented recently, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever witnessed. It is polluted polymer. Sea creatures will ingest small plastic items 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 create a slick which draws in diving coastal birds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been exhausting. "Recently, I was on site removing the debris. We are trying to really piece together the sequence of events and the story for this devastating incident. It’s terrible."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a very long way off, the beach looks normal. But as soon as you approach closely, you see there are countless dark beads, hidden among marine plants. It’s an impossible task – helpers have been working tirelessly, and they will keep at it, but we cannot remove every pellet. It is the most severe I have ever seen of a polluted beach."

The elected official, who joined the removal work, stated, "The immense quantity of plastic beads that have appeared on this shore risks an ecological disaster. These biobeads are lethal to marine life and wildlife, and we are observing 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 urgently establish if their local wastewater plants could be the origin of these pellets, and I’ve asked them to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the interim."

The beads are also dangerous to dogs as they contain a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they frequently include toxins such as lead, metalloids, and chemical elements.

An official representative for the water company said, "We are working closely with the Environment Agency and district authorities to look into the cause of plastic beads which have washed up on the shoreline. The inquiry is ongoing."

"Local officials is overseeing removal of the beach, using trained personnel with a specialized machinery 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 the aquatic environment. These results has been shared with the local authorities and the regulatory body."

Regulatory officials has been reached out to for comment.