Chip wreck! Thousands of chips wash ashore on beach

Thousands of bags of chips have washed up on a beach in Sussex.

The chips washed up near Eastbourne after several shipping containers containing "food and packaging" came ashore nearby earlier this week.

Joel Bonnici, who lives in Eastbourne, said he "had to look twice" when he went for a walk on Saturday in Falling Sands, which is near Beachy Head cliffs.

"The beach looked like the Caribbean golden sands," he said.

"In some areas the chips were two-and-a-half feet deep into the ground.

"Among the unusual sightings of washed up items - including onions found earlier this week - nothing compares to this."

A call-out for volunteers has been issued on a community Facebook page to encourage residents to help clear up the chips, Bonnici said.

"Removing the plastic bags is a priority," he added.

He said there is a small colony of seals nearby and the bags posed a danger to them.

"I scuba dive quite regularly, and I know what seals are like," he said.

"If they see the bags they will play with them or try and eat them."

Three shipping containers washed up at Seaford in East Sussex on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the HM Coastguard said a container off Littlehampton, West Sussex, was also recovered, along with debris off Beachy Head.

"An aircraft was sent to survey the area on Friday and no further containers were spotted offshore," they added.

They said containers which washed up at Selsey, Eastbourne, Newhaven, Rustington, Rottingdean and Beachy Head are being monitored.

They came ashore a month after 16 containers fell from the cargo vessel Baltic Klipper near the Isle of Wight and days after several containers fell from two more ships off the island during Storm Goretti.

East Sussex County Council has urged members of the public to take extra care if they are visiting the coastline.

"Please keep dogs on leads as some of the food items washing on to the shoreline may be harmful to them," a spokesperson added.

"Contact your district or borough council to report any new debris you find on our beaches or for information on whether volunteers are required."

Eastbourne Borough Council has been approached for comment.

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