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The water company is conducting an inquiry after millions of polluted polymer pellets appeared on Camber Sands beach, raising fears of a potential "environmental catastrophe".

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

A local official suspects the beads may have been spilled from a nearby water treatment centre and has written to the water company's chief executive, demanding an account.

Camber Sands, situated in the southeastern region, is a highly popular shoreline, known for rare dune habitat and vast stretches of fine grains.

Volunteers have been racing against time to clear the pellets, filling dozens of bags with the synthetic debris, but the scale of the pollution spill is vast, and it is improbable they will be able to remove all of them.

A representative from a environmental organization remarked 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 ocean; they will attract algae, they will smell like food, in essence."

"Once they’ve eaten it, that’s it: 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 exhausting. "Recently, I was on site removing the debris. We are trying to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and the story for this devastating incident. It’s awful."

"They are so small that from a very long way off, the shoreline appears unaffected. But as soon as you approach closely, you see there are countless dark beads, 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 participated in the removal work, remarked, "The huge number of plastic beads that have appeared on this shore threatens an ecological disaster. These plastic items are deadly to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing increased mortality among marine species on the beach."

"Community members are working tirelessly to clear away as many beads as possible, but it’s a urgent effort. The water company must quickly determine if their nearby treatment facilities could be the source of these pellets, and I’ve requested to dedicate all available resources to supporting the clean-up operation in the interim."

The beads are also dangerous to canines as they contain a significant amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to have cancer-causing traits, and they frequently include toxins such as lead, antimony, and bromine.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said, "We are collaborating with the Environment Agency and district authorities to look into the source of polymer pellets which have been deposited on the shoreline. The inquiry is still in progress."

"Local officials is leading the clean-up of the shore, using trained personnel with a specialized machinery to remove the beads. We are also supporting with the clean-up."

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

Regulatory officials has been contacted for a statement.