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Southern Water is conducting an inquiry after a vast number of polluted polymer pellets appeared on Camber Sands beach, raising worries of a possible "environmental catastrophe".

These biobeads could cause severe harm on marine life, as stated by a regional representative, with apprehensions that protected marine species, including seabirds, small cetaceans, and seals, might consume them and die.

The area's representative believes the pellets may have been spilled from a local filtration facility and has sent a letter to the water company's chief executive, demanding an account.

Camber Sands, situated in East Sussex, is one of England’s most beloved beaches, known for rare dune habitat and vast stretches of fine grains.

Local helpers have been working urgently to remove the pellets, filling dozens of bags with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the pollution spill is immense, and it is unlikely they will be able to remove all of them.

A representative from a plastic pollution campaign group remarked recently, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever seen. It is contaminated plastic. Sea creatures will ingest small plastic items once they are in the ocean; 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 attracts plunging seabirds."

He added that the removal work have been exhausting. "Recently, I was on site cleaning it up. 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 appears unaffected. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are countless 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 seen of a contaminated shoreline."

The elected official, who joined the removal work, remarked, "The immense quantity of plastic beads that have appeared on this shore threatens an environmental catastrophe. These plastic items are lethal to marine life and wildlife, and we are observing increased mortality among marine species on the beach."

"Community members are working tirelessly to remove as many pellets as possible, but it’s a urgent effort. The water company must quickly determine if their local wastewater plants could be the origin of these biobeads, and I’ve asked them to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the interim."

These pellets 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 often contain toxins such as lead, metalloids, and bromine.

An official representative for the water company said, "We are working closely with the regulatory body and district authorities to investigate the source of polymer pellets which have been deposited on the shoreline. This investigation work is ongoing."

"The district council is overseeing removal of the beach, using trained personnel with a specialized machinery to extract the beads. We are additionally assisting with the removal process."

"We’ve conducted environmental testing on the beach, which has revealed no effect to the aquatic environment. This data has been shared with the district council and the Environment Agency."

Regulatory officials has been reached out to for comment.