Hundreds of small plastic balls have washed up on the shores of Overcombe beach in Weymouth.

Environmentalists warn that these 'microplastic nurdles' present a danger to the environment and people and animals that use the beach.

The tiny plastic spheres are usually between three to five millimetres in size and are produced to be made into other plastic items later in manufacturers' production line.

The nurdles were spotted by Gabriella Taylor from Dorchester, who is currently studying Environmental Science at the University of Southampton.

The student is currently writing her dissertation on how nurdles get weathered and break down in the environment.

She said: "I was quite shocked to see these nurdles on the beach in Weymouth.

"I have been studying them in Southampton, I came home for Mother's Day and I was very surprised to see them in Weymouth."

The nurdles present a danger to life on the beach, Gabriella said, as the plastic breaks down and spreads into the water.

And she added that they also carry a risk for people visiting the beach.

She said: "Nurdles collect micropollutants from the sea onto their surface, so it is not advised to touch them without PPE, and you should thoroughly wash your hands if handling them.

"They absorb any toxins or sewage which is in the water so they are not very clean to touch.

"It is also quite common for birds or fish to mistake them as food and ingest them."

Emma Teasdale, Litter Free Dorset Coordinator, said: "Nurdles can be found lurking just under the sand on beaches all along the Dorset coast.

"They are the beginning of the plastic manufacturing process – tiny plastic pellets that are heated and moulded into every plastic item we see in the world, from shampoo bottles to mobile phone covers.

"Nurdles find their way to the beach after leaking from shipping containers or being washed down the drain at factories."

Gabriella and Emma both suggested the likely origin of the small plastic pollutants was from a spill from a shipping container.

Last year spills from the Wec Van Eyck ship left items destined for supermarkets, such as crisps and air conditioners, washed up on Dorset beaches.

Emma said: "Dorset is very susceptible to spills like these because of its position on the English Channel.

"We can have beach cleans 24 hours a day and things will still keep washing up.

"The only solution is to stop the plastic from getting there in the first place.

"We currently produce around 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, which is a result of our demand for cheap, convenient, and single-use items that are used once and thrown away, with less than 10% of plastic waste being recycled.

"The solution? Use less stuff. We need to re-use the plastic we already have, instead of constantly creating new things.”