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Southern Water is conducting an inquiry after a vast number of contaminated plastic beads appeared on Camber Sands beach, raising fears of a potential "environmental catastrophe".

These biobeads could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, as stated by a local MP, with apprehensions that rare sea life, such as coastal birds, porpoises, and marine mammals, might ingest them and die.

A local official believes the pellets may have been spilled from a nearby water treatment centre and has sent a letter to the water company's chief executive, demanding an explanation.

Camber Sands, located in East Sussex, is a highly popular shoreline, known for rare dune habitat and expansive areas of fine grains.

Volunteers have been racing against time to remove the beads, filling dozens of bags with the synthetic debris, but the extent of the contamination event is immense, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

A representative from a environmental organization remarked over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever witnessed. It is contaminated plastic. Sea creatures will consume small plastic items once they are in the ocean; they will attract algae, they will smell like food, in essence."

"Once they’ve eaten it, there's no turning back: they cannot expel it. They will remain buoyant. It will create a slick which attracts plunging seabirds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been exhausting. "Recently, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and the details for this devastating incident. It’s awful."

"The pellets are minuscule that from a very long way off, the beach looks normal. But as soon as you get close up, you see there are countless black pellets, hidden among marine plants. It’s an impossible task – volunteers have been raking for days, 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 participated in the removal work, stated, "The immense quantity of polymer pellets that have appeared on this shore threatens an ecological disaster. These biobeads are lethal to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing increased mortality among marine species on the beach."

"Community members are working tirelessly to remove 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 source of these biobeads, and I’ve requested to dedicate all available resources to aiding the removal efforts in the meantime."

These pellets are also dangerous to dogs as they contain a high number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are recognized for cancer-causing traits, and they often contain harmful substances such as heavy metals, antimony, and bromine.

A spokesperson for the water company said, "We are working closely with the Environment Agency and local council to look into the cause of polymer pellets which have washed up on Camber Beach. This investigation work is ongoing."

"The district council is overseeing removal of the shore, using specialists with a specialized machinery to remove the beads. We are also supporting with the clean-up."

"We have performed water-quality sampling on the beach, which has revealed no effect to environmental water quality. This data has been provided with the local authorities and the Environment Agency."

Regulatory officials has been contacted for a statement.