Public warned NOT to go in the sea after toxic beach mystery leaves kids struggling to breathe
THREE beaches have been hit by a mystery toxic incident which left children struggling to breathe after playing in the sea.
Despite today being the hottest bank holiday on record, police are warning beach-goers to keep out of the water.
Children started struggling to breathe after swimming in the waters off Frinton-on-Sea in Essex
Emergency services in Essex rushed to Frinton, Walton and Clacton yesterday after alarming reports were made of kids becoming unwell on Saturday.
It's still not clear what caused the disturbing seaside event, which led to some people being hospitalised, but a full investigation is now underway.
Essex Police said they were investigating, but the cause remained unknown and the force advised people to keep out of the water.
A spokesman for Tendring Disrtrict Council said: "We are aware of a number of people reporting feeling unwell at beaches in Walton, Frinton and Clacton.
"The advice from emergency services and health officials is to avoid going into the water at this time along this stretch of the Tendring coastline.
"Ambulance teams treated those with symptoms at the scene — which included irritation to the eyes and minor breathing difficulties — with a wash and change of clothes, and fresh water to drink.
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"A very small number of people were subsequently taken to hospital for further tests but are in a stable and non-life-threatening condition."
Speculation online of a fuel spill was not confirmed by police or the ambulance service.
A mother who was on a family day out at the busy beach in Frinton said one of her twin daughters was left "gasping" for breath.
'HURTS TO BREATHE'
Miriam Lansdell said: "My daughter started coughing. She said: 'I don't feel good. It hurts to breathe in'.
"My other daughter was gasping and couldn't form words because she couldn't breathe well enough."
The 45-year-old mental health worker from Derbyshire, who was visiting her parents in Essex for the bank holiday weekend, said she had also had difficulty breathing as she lay on the sand drying off after a dip in the water.
She said they all began to breathe easier when they moved further away from the beach, but took the 10-year-old girls to a walk-in clinic to be checked over by medical staff.
Ms Lansdell said her father had been told by someone in a speedboat, who he assumed to be associated with the coastguard, that there may have been a fuel spill.
WATER EVACUATED
She said: "My dad said he had been asked to get out of the water by a man on a boat.
"He asked why and the man said there had been a fuel spill.
"He said if anyone is having breathing difficulties they should probably call an ambulance."
She added: "It's not what you expect when you go for a day out to the beach."
A spokeswoman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "At around 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon, HM Coastguard received reports of beach swimmers suffering from a possible respiratory irritant causing people to cough at Frinton and Walton-on-the-Naze on the Essex coast.
"The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has not received any reports of pollution being spilled in the area from vessels.
CHILDREN TREATED
"The MCA's counter pollution surveillance aircraft has flown over the area this afternoon to undertake an aerial survey and no fuel pollution has been reported by this flight."
Saturday's incident comes just 12 days after a dozen people were left vomiting on a beach in Worthing, West Sussex, when a toxic cloud swept the area.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency investigated a sunken warship as being the cause of the poisonous gas.
One person tweeted that there were "lots of people coughing heavily", while a mother said her son began coughing after swimming and had to be given his inhaler.
Another said: "We have just left Frinton and have seen lots of fire engines on the way out. Has there been an incident? We were on the beach and all developed a cough and were struggling to breathe.
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A spokeswoman for East of England Ambulance Service said: "We are aware of an incident on Sunday 25 August with reports of a number of people suffering from coughing on the seafront off Fourth Avenue, Frinton.
"We are assisting the police and fire services with this incident.
"The cause is currently unknown."
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