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

The plastic pellets could cause severe harm on ocean creatures, according to a regional representative, with concerns that protected marine species, including coastal birds, small cetaceans, and seals, might ingest them and perish.

A local official suspects the beads may have been released from a local filtration facility and has sent a letter to the water company's chief executive, requesting an account.

Camber Sands, situated in the southeastern region, is a highly popular shoreline, featuring rare dune habitat and expansive areas of golden sand.

Volunteers have been racing against time to clear the pellets, filling multiple sacks 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.

An expert from a plastic pollution campaign group commented over the weekend, "This represents the most severe contamination incident I have ever witnessed. It is polluted polymer. Marine animals will consume small plastic items once they are in the ocean; they will draw in microorganisms, they will smell like food, in essence."

"After ingestion, there's no turning back: they cannot expel it. They will float on the surface. It will form a layer which draws in plunging seabirds."

He added that the clean-up efforts have been draining. "Recently, I was on site cleaning it up. We are trying to really piece together the timeline and the details for this devastating incident. It’s awful."

"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 millions black pellets, hidden among marine plants. It’s an unachievable mission – volunteers have been raking for days, 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 encountered of a polluted beach."

The elected official, who joined the removal work, remarked, "The immense quantity of plastic beads that have washed up here risks an environmental catastrophe. These plastic items are deadly to ocean and land animals, and we are already seeing increased mortality among marine species on the coast."

"Community members are working tirelessly to clear away as many beads as possible, but it’s a urgent effort. Southern Water must quickly determine if their local wastewater plants could be the origin of these pellets, and I’ve requested to dedicate all available resources to supporting the clean-up operation in the interim."

These pellets are additionally hazardous to dogs as they hold a significant amount of PAHs, which are known to have carcinogenic properties, and they frequently include toxins including heavy metals, antimony, and chemical elements.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said, "We are collaborating with the Environment Agency and district authorities to investigate the cause of plastic beads which have washed up on the shoreline. The inquiry is still in progress."

"Local officials is leading the clean-up of the beach, using specialists with a specialized machinery to remove the beads. We are also supporting with the removal process."

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

Regulatory officials has been reached out to for comment.