Sussex Bio-bead pollution incident most serious category

Millions of plastic beads washed up on Sussex shores in a Southern Water pollution incident.

The Environment Agency raised the incident to a Category 1 pollution event, its highest level of severity, following pressure from Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore and the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Ms Dollimore and Chris Corrigan, CEO of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, urged the agency to acknowledge the long-term harm to wildlife and protected habitats.

Helena Dollimore said: “Southern Water have a responsibility make amends to our community for this incident and clean up their own mess.

“They made a commitment to fund a programme of nature restoration in our beautiful area, and I will hold them to that promise.”

Helena Dollimore MP with a sample of the bio-beads (Image: Supplied)

The plastic beads pose a serious risk to wildlife, including birds, fish and marine mammals that may ingest them.

The MP and Mr Corrigan argued that the pollution could have “devastating potential for major adverse effects on this statutorily protected site of special scientific interest.”

Ms Dollimore met Environment Agency chief executive Philip Duffy in December to call for the incident to be upgraded from Category 2 to Category 1.

This reclassification means Southern Water could now face the most serious set of sanctions following the Environment Agency’s investigation into the incident.

Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, one of England’s most important wildlife sites, is among the affected areas.

Volunteers worked tireless to clean up the beaches (Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

The reserve is home to more than 4,355 species of plants and animals, including 300 that are rare or endangered.

The presence of the plastic beads at the site has been described as “devastating” by the MP and the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

The Sussex Wildlife Trust have been carefully monitoring birds for any adverse health symptoms linked to excessive consumption of the beads.

Ms Dollimore, Labour and Co-operative MP for Hastings, Rye and the villages, said: “It is only right that the Environment Agency has escalated this incident to the most serious level.

“It was devastating to discover the beads in Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, and I am worried about the harm they could cause our local wildlife.”

With backing from the Sussex Wildlife Trust, Ms Dollimore has launched a petition calling for an end to the use of plastic beads in wastewater treatment.

She launched the campaign alongside Mr Corrigan at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve in December.

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “We’re sorry this incident happened and we are committed to a long-term clean-up of the area.

“We are fully cooperating with regulatory investigations and keeping both regulators and stakeholders updated.”