Chip wave: Thousands wash up on Sussex beach

Having chips at the seaside is pretty common, but we bet you'd never expect to see them covering the beach.

This was the sight in Eastbourne, after thousands of bags of chips were found washed up.

The chips are thought to have come from shipping containers which fell from a cargo ship near the Isle of Wight.

Last month 16 containers shipping containers fell off the ship carrying them, while several containers fell from two more ships during Storm Goretti.

Although it might sound like fun, it's been far from chip, chip hooray for the volunteers who have been helping to clear the mess up.

They've also been busy removing the plastic bags the chips came in from the beach, as they can be a danger to animals, including dogs and seals.

Joel Bonnici, who lives in in the East Sussex town, said: "I scuba dive quite regularly, and I know what seals are like. If they see the bags they will play with them or try and eat them."

East Sussex County Council has also asked members of the public to take extra care and "keep dogs on leads as some of the food items washing on to the shoreline may be harmful to them".

Joel said that chips aren't the only unusual food items seen washed up on the beach, with onions found earlier in the week too, but added: "Nothing compares to this."

He said he "had to look twice" when he went for a walk and saw just how many chips there were.

"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."