Camber Sands pellet pollution 'highly likely' from water treatment works
Southern Water has apologised for the spill
Huge numbers of plastic beads, which washed up on a beach on the south coast, are "highly likely" to have come from a Southern Water treatment works, the water company has admitted.
Southern Water apologised for the spill, which saw small plastic pellets strewn over the beach at Camber Sands in East Sussex, prompting a clean-up operation by the local council, experts and volunteers that began on Thursday.
Local environmental group, Strandliners, has described it as the "worst plastic pellet pollution incident" it had seen there and warned of the potential for a catastrophic impact on local wildlife, which can easily mistake the toxic pellets for food.
It said once the pellets are ingested, it is difficult for birds and marine animals to expel them, so they may die of starvation or the cumulative impacts of the toxins they contain.
Southern Water has now said it believes the beads, used in the water treatment process, had come from its Eastbourne Wastewater Treatment Works and were released into the sea during heavy rainfall after the failure of a screening filter, which should have stopped them escaping.
A statement from the company, after the initial stages of an investigation into the incident, said: "We are very sorry this has happened and are doing everything possible to investigate and resolve the problem.
"We'll provide further updates as soon as more information becomes available.
"Southern Water teams continue to work closely with Rother District Council, which is leading the clean-up efforts, and we remain committed to supporting this work in every way we can."
Southern Water volunteers were continuing to assist work at Camber Sands, the statement said.
Rother District Council has said the majority of the pellets should be cleaned up by Monday, but warned further beads would be deposited on the beach as the tide moves in and out, and officers would continue to monitor the beach to see if further action is required.
As it embarked on the clean-up, the council urged dog owners to keep dogs on leads and under close supervision while on the beach to stop them from potentially eating the pellets.
Camber Sands is a stretch of sandy beach near Rye in East Sussex, backed by dunes which are partly covered by protected SSSI status, and is a popular spot for beachgoers and water sports enthusiasts.