UK police close Worthing seafront after hazardous material report

FILE PHOTO: A couple sit on the beach and look out to sea on the August bank holiday weekend in Worthing, Britain, August 26, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Boyce/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - The seafront in the resort of Worthing on England's south coast was closed for a few hours on Sunday afternoon after a small number of people reported symptoms including sore eyes and vomiting, police said.

A cordon was put in place along the seafront earlier on Sunday and people were advised to shut all windows and doors or stay away from the area.

Sussex Police later said all the cordons had been lifted and the seafront was open as usual.

FILE PHOTO: Seabirds follow a fishing boat as the fisherman throw waste from the catch into the sea off the coast of Worthing, Britain May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Russell Boyce/File Photo

Two people were checked at hospital before being discharged and advised to go home, wash their clothes and have a shower, police said.

An investigation into the incident was ongoing, police said, and a number of lines of enquiry were being followed up.

In August 2017 up to 50 people at the coast near Eastbourne, about 60 km from Worthing, suffered irritation to their eyes and throats from an unidentified chemical haze.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Jan Harvey and Kirsten Donovan)