Millions of raw chips washed ashore on a south coast beach, reaching depths of almost two feet in some spots.
As the water retreated on Falling Sands beach between Beachy Head and Eastbourne, the chips, many still in their plastic bags, looked scattered across the shore.
The fries are thought to have come from at least 20 enormous containers that, during a storm in the English Channel, washed overboard from two ships.
They were carried by ocean currents to beaches across East Sussex. It is believed that as the metal containers were tossed by waves, the chips spilled out while at sea.
The find was made only two weeks after a large quantity of bananas washed up on the coast near Selsey, West Sussex, when containers carrying them were similarly thrown overboard from a ship as they were being carried to the UK.
Joel Bonnici, an Eastbourne resident, told the BBC in Sussex that when taking a stroll at Falling Sands, he “had to look twice.”He said, “The beach resembled the golden sands of the Caribbean.”
The chips were buried 2.5 feet deep in some places. Nothing compares to the odd sights of washed-up objects, such as onions discovered earlier this week.
Mr. Bonnici said, “A call-out for volunteers has been issued on a community Facebook page to encourage residents to help clear up the chips.””It’s a top priority to remove the plastic bags,” he said.
He said the bags were dangerous to the neighboring colony of tiny seals. Seals will play with or attempt to eat the bags if they notice them, as I have observed during my frequent underwater diving.
On Tuesday, three cargo containers washed ashore near Seaford, East Sussex.
Along with debris near Beachy Head, a container off Littlehampton, West Sussex, was also found, according to a Coastguard official. They stated that no further containers were seen offshore after an aircraft was sent to examine the region on Friday.
Containers that washed ashore in Selsey, Eastbourne, Newhaven, Rustington, Rottingdean, and Beachy Head are being watched, they added.
They landed days after many containers dropped from two further ships off the Isle of Wight during Storm Goretti, and a month after 16 containers fell from the cargo ship Baltic Klipper close to the island.
The public has been advised by East Sussex County Council to exercise additional caution while visiting the seaside. A representative went on to say, “Please keep dogs on leads as some of the food items washing onto the shoreline may be harmful to them.”
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