Southern Water says catastrophic biobeads spill was its fault

Southern Water has taken responsibility for a catastrophic spill of plastic biobeads that has polluted the East Sussex coastline.

- Helena Horton Environment reporter

Local charities reported a huge spill of millions of biobeads over the weekend, washing up on beaches including Camber Sands.

According to Southern Water, the spill was caused by a mechanical failure at its Eastbourne sewage works. The beads are used in the last step of the cleaning process before treated effluent water is released back into rivers or the sea.

A spokesperson said: "We've identified a failure of a screening filter, which has apparently led to beads used in the treatment process being released into the sea during heavy rainfall. The screen should have prevented this occurring. We are very sorry this has happened and are doing everything possible to investigate and resolve the problem."