A large quantity of small plastic pellets or "nurdles" have been seen on a Dorset beach.

Visitors and staff at Dorset Wildlife Trust's Wild Seas Centre at Kimmeridge Bay have reported a large number of white nurdles - tiny plastic pellets, which have washed up onto the beach.

Nurdles are the form of raw plastic that is transported to factories around the world to be moulded into a wide range of plastic products – anything from plastic bottles and bags to window frames and sunglasses.

They are regularly spilled from container ships into the sea or in factories where they have washed down drains.

Whilst they may look harmless, the nurdles present a real threat to the environment and marine wildlife.

Often they can be mistaken as food by fish and birds, causing fatal digestion problems.

At the Wild Seas Centre, nurdles have been a focus of discussion for many years, with a nurdle o’meter demonstrating the number of nurdles washing ashore.

However, staff and visitors at the Centre have been shocked by the increasing amount of white nurdles washing up in the last few days.

It comes in the wake of a huge oil spill in Poole Harbour.

Wild Seas Centre Officer, Julie Hatcher said “For many years, we have encouraged visitors to hunt for nurdles and hand pick them from the beach to help protect the important beach and shoreline wildlife.

"However, the number of nurdles currently on the beach has been truly shocking. We don’t know where they have come from, but many people are collecting handfuls of them and bringing them to us for disposal.”

Nurdles have also been spotted on Overcombe beach in Weymouth, after student Gabriella Taylor noticed them whilst working on a dissertation about the tiny plastic pellets at the University of Southampton.

Gabriella warned that these nurdles do carry a risk to people visiting the beaches.

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."