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The water company is conducting an inquiry after a vast number of polluted polymer pellets were found on Camber Sands beach, sparking worries of a potential "ecological disaster".

The plastic pellets could cause severe harm on marine life, as stated by a local MP, with apprehensions that rare sea life, including coastal birds, small cetaceans, and marine mammals, might consume them and die.

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

This coastal area, located in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, known for unique sandy ecosystems and expansive areas of fine grains.

Volunteers have been working urgently to clear the pellets, filling dozens of bags with the plastic waste, but the scale of the contamination event is vast, and it is unlikely they will be able to clear every piece.

A representative from a plastic pollution campaign group commented recently, "This is the worst pollution event I have ever seen. It is polluted polymer. Marine animals will ingest small plastic items once they are in the sea; they will draw in microorganisms, they will smell like food, in essence."

"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. "Yesterday, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to really piece together the sequence of events and the details for this horrendous event. It’s terrible."

"They are so small that from a very long way off, the shoreline looks normal. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are countless black pellets, nestled under seaweed. It’s an unachievable mission – 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 encountered of a polluted beach."

The local MP, who participated in the removal work, stated, "The immense quantity of plastic beads that have washed up here risks an environmental catastrophe. These plastic items are lethal to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing more dead seals, fish and porpoises on the coast."

"Local residents are working tirelessly to remove as many beads as possible, but it’s a race against time. Southern Water must urgently establish if their nearby treatment facilities could be the origin of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to commit every possible asset to aiding the removal efforts in the interim."

These pellets are also dangerous to canines as they hold a high number of PAHs, which are known to have carcinogenic properties, and they often contain harmful substances including heavy metals, metalloids, and chemical elements.

A spokesperson for the water company said, "We are collaborating 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."

"The district council is leading the clean-up of the beach, using trained personnel with a specialized machinery to extract the beads. We are also supporting with the removal process."

"We’ve conducted water-quality sampling on the beach, which has revealed no effect to environmental water quality. These results has been provided with the district council and the Environment Agency."

Regulatory officials has been contacted for a statement.