Authorities say mysterious haze that left 150 people requiring medical treatment is unlikely to have come from France

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The Green party has called for an urgent investigation into the chemical cloud that closed beaches across East Sussex on Sunday.

Caroline Lucas, the party’s co-leader and MP for Brighton Pavilion, said an inquiry was needed to determine “how this gas came to be in our atmosphere and engulfing our beaches, and an action plan put in place to ensure this never happens again”.

About 150 people required treatment for stinging eyes, sore throats and vomiting in the hours after the haze was first reported to have arrived from the sea at Birling Gap, between Eastbourne and Seaford, just before 5pm on Sunday.

The haze was described by a witness as “immense” as it loomed off the coast of the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs that afternoon.

More than 100 treated after 'chemical incident' at Birling Gap in East Sussex Read more

Birling Gap beach was evacuated by emergency services, and residents along the coastline towards Hastings were advised to keep windows and doors closed.

A statement issued by Eastbourne district general hospital and Sussex police said the first patients to report to hospital received a “full decontamination treatment” that was later found to be unnecessary.

Although long queues amassed at the hospital into the evening, the effects of the unknown substance were mostly minor, with no one admitted for further treatment.

The cloud had mostly dissipated by Monday morning, and authorities were treating it as an isolated incident.



“Whatever it was, it smelled like burnt plastic,” said Bob Jefferey, of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Eastbourne division.

Several agencies were working together to establish the nature of the gas and its origins, as speculation continued to mount on social media under the hashtag #BirlingGap. The coastguard was understood to be leading the operation.

Katz Kiely said she and a friend were advised by a 111 operator to go to A&E at about 6pm, after being overwhelmed by the gas while waiting for a bus at Birling Gap. “It was the weirdest thing – it just happened out of nowhere. I looked around, and everybody’s eyes were running. It felt like I’d just been pepper-sprayed.”

Kiely said they had both been put through several tests at Royal Sussex county hospital in Brighton before being told separately, by different doctors, that the cause was ammonia.

“They just said they’d been contacted by the authorities and informed it was ammonia or ammonia gas, and therefore, unless symptoms developed over the next couple of days, we shouldn’t have to worry.”

Kiely said she was confused as to why that diagnosis had not been made public. “My only concern now is I want to know what it is … If they don’t know what it is or where it came from, how can they say it’s safe?”

Public Health England and Brighton and Sussex university hospitals NHS trust have both been contacted for their response.



Authorities had earlier dismissed suggestions that the cloud may have crossed the Channel from northern France as “very unlikely”. Although chemicals have drifted across the Channel in the past, police said weather models indicated that could not have been the case on Sunday.

“Neither the gas nor its source have been established, but agencies are continuing to investigate and have not ruled out either onshore or offshore locations, although it does appear that it did sweep in from the sea driven by onshore breezes,” the hospital and police statement said.

A video shared by Kyle Crickmore, who had been on the beach at Birling Gap with his family on Sunday, showed the cloud making landfall. He and others had commented on the “strong smell of chlorine in the air”.

East Sussex fire and rescue service said it was “extremely unlikely” that the haze was chlorine, but gave no further detail.

Despite the incident, thousands of people were expected to flock to the south coast on Monday, with temperatures forecast to reach up to 25C (77F).

Jonathan Hill, 28, who lives about half a mile from Birling Gap beach, said he and his girlfriend had begun to suffer immediately on returning home from holiday at about 4.30pm on Sunday.

“We got home, threw open the windows to air the house, and quickly developed stingy eyes. Initially we thought it might be hay fever,” he said. “It got so bad at one point I couldn’t see for about five minutes, it was very hurtful to open my eyes and I had to wash them with cold water.”

He said beachgoers did not appear to have been discouraged on Monday: “Everything seems to have cleared up completely today … It’s maybe a bit less busy than usual.”

Dan Sankey, who tweeted on Sunday about being caught out on Birling Gap with his family by the “weird mist, burning everyone’s eyes”, added on Monday that he was “keen for a quick explanation”.

“It’s not every day you wake up wondering, ‘Do I need contaminating?’ … Until there’s clarity I can only fear the worst and expect the mutations to begin imminently.”

Public Health England said anyone still affected by the fumes should wash irritated areas with soap and water.