Protesters have expressed their anger over plastic pellets washed up on beaches in the north-east of England and their potential harm to wildlife.
The tiny beads, known as nurdles, entered the water when a vessel struck a ship container at the Port of Tyne in South Shields on Sunday, and have drifted as far as Blyth beach in Northumberland and Seaburn in Sunderland.
While the risk to the public is low, people are being warned not to pick them up. Concern has also been expressed that the clean up is not happening quickly enough.
Colin Porter, who attended a protest at Littlehaven beach in South Shields, said it was the worst local “environmental disaster” he had seen in many decades.
An investigation by the Environment Agency is under way, and Port of Tyne said it acted quickly to contain the damage.
However, North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has now demanded that the owners of the two vessels involved in the collision which caused the spill, pay for the clean up.