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Southern Water is currently investigating after millions of polluted polymer pellets were found on Camber Sands beach, raising fears of a potential "environmental catastrophe".

These biobeads could have a dire impact on marine life, according to a regional representative, with concerns that rare sea life, such as coastal birds, porpoises, and marine mammals, might ingest them and perish.

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

Camber Sands, located in the southeastern region, is one of England’s most beloved beaches, known for rare dune habitat and expansive areas of fine grains.

Local helpers have been racing against time to clear the beads, collecting multiple sacks with the plastic waste, but the extent of the pollution spill is immense, and it is improbable they will be able to clear every piece.

An expert from a environmental organization commented recently, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever seen. It is polluted polymer. Sea creatures will ingest tiny synthetic pieces once they are in the sea; they will attract algae, they will appear edible, effectively."

"Once they’ve eaten it, that’s it: they can’t get it out. They will remain buoyant. It will form a layer which draws in diving coastal birds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been draining. "Recently, I was out there removing the debris. We are trying to really piece together the timeline and the details for this horrendous event. It’s awful."

"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, nestled under seaweed. It’s an unachievable mission – volunteers have been working tirelessly, and they will continue to rake, 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 ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the coast."

"Community members are working tirelessly to clear away as many pellets as possible, but it’s a race against time. Southern Water must urgently establish if their local wastewater plants could be the origin of these biobeads, and I’ve asked them to dedicate all available resources to aiding the removal efforts in the meantime."

The beads are additionally hazardous to canines as they contain a significant amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are recognized for cancer-causing traits, and they often contain toxins such as heavy metals, metalloids, and bromine.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said, "We are working closely with the regulatory body and local council to investigate the cause of polymer pellets which have been deposited on Camber Beach. The inquiry is still in progress."

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

"We’ve conducted water-quality sampling on the beach, which has revealed no effect to environmental water quality. This data has been shared with the district council and the regulatory body."

Regulatory officials has been reached out to for comment.