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The water company is conducting an inquiry after millions of contaminated plastic beads were found on the shoreline at Camber, raising worries of a potential "ecological disaster".

The plastic pellets could have a dire impact on marine life, according to a regional representative, with concerns that rare sea life, such as coastal birds, small cetaceans, and marine mammals, might consume them and die.

A local official believes the beads may have been spilled from a local filtration facility and has written to the top official, demanding an explanation.

This coastal area, located in East Sussex, is one of England’s most beloved beaches, known for rare dune habitat and vast stretches of golden sand.

Volunteers have been racing against time to clear the pellets, collecting dozens of bags with the plastic waste, but the extent 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 remarked 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."

"Once they’ve eaten it, there's no turning back: they cannot expel it. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which draws in diving coastal birds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been draining. "Recently, I was on site removing the debris. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and the story for this horrendous event. It’s awful."

"They are so small that from a very long way off, the beach appears unaffected. But as soon as you approach closely, you see there are millions dark beads, nestled under seaweed. It’s an impossible task – volunteers 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 contaminated shoreline."

The elected official, who joined the removal work, stated, "The immense quantity of polymer pellets that have washed up here risks an ecological disaster. These biobeads are lethal to ocean and land animals, and we are observing increased mortality among marine species on the coast."

"Community members are working tirelessly to clear away as many beads as possible, but it’s a race against time. Southern Water 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."

The beads are additionally hazardous to canines as they hold a significant amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to have carcinogenic properties, and they often contain harmful substances such as heavy metals, antimony, and chemical elements.

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

"Local officials is overseeing removal of the shore, using trained personnel with a vehicle with suction equipment to extract the pellets. We are additionally assisting with the removal process."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has revealed no effect to the aquatic environment. These results has been shared with the district council and the regulatory body."

Regulatory officials has been contacted for a statement.