Government 'appalled' by beach pellet incident

The environment secretary says she is "appalled" by the pollution incident which led to huge numbers of plastic beads washing up on an East Sussex beach.

Emma Reynolds told MPs she was "holding Southern Water to account" about the spill at Camber Sands and has called for a thorough investigation.

Southern Water apologised for the spill, which prompted a clean-up operation by the local council and volunteers.

The company said on Thursday it had "committed to an independent investigation into the cause".

Southern Water previously said it was likely that the beads - used in the water treatment process - had come from the Eastbourne wastewater treatment works.

Reynolds told the House of Commons the authorities' immediate priority was to "address the damage caused".

She added: "We need to ask questions about why this wasn't uncovered earlier."

The pellets were released into the sea during heavy rainfall, after the failure of a screening filter which should have stopped them escaping.

The water company said a defective tank was spotted on 28 October, but it was not known at the time whether any pellets had escaped.

In the Commons, Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde warned of "catastrophic failures" by Southern Water in the region.

The Liberal Democrat described a "stench stinking out" the town "and a matter of days ago, the accidental discharge of millions of plastic bio-beads into our sea".

Babarinde asked for a meeting with ministers to discuss how they could "force Southern Water to finally get a grip of their appalling failures".

A spokesperson for Southern Water said:"Further investigations, including draining a large tank over the past 24 hours, have uncovered vastly more beads still in the system at Eastbourne than originally anticipated.

"This means substantially fewer beads - less than 10 tonnes - have entered the environment."

The company says about 80% of the beads that washed up on the beach have been removed as a result of the clean-up operation, led by Rother District Council.

Coastal officers told the BBC on Thursday they had found a dead porpoise, gannet, seal and swan in the area in the last two weeks.

They said that was "unusual" but could not be sure the incidents were related to the beads.

Environment Minister Emma Hardy visited Camber Sands on Thursday afternoon to view the clean-up.

She said: "When you see this amount of pollution it's incredibly saddening and it makes you quite angry that this has been allowed to happen."

A public meeting is being held on Thursday evening at Tilling Green Community Centre in Rye, chaired by local MP Helena Dollimore and with representatives from Southern Water, Strandliners and Rother District Council.

Additional reporting from PA Media.

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