Emergency services in Worthing swung into operation over the weekend when thousands of tons of timber washed ashore on to the beach. The timber fell off the deck of the freighter Ice Prince, shortly before it sank in rough weather off Portland Bill in Dorset. The wood washed ashore on beaches across West and East Sussex, from Littlehampton to Brighton. Worthing's beach was closed to the public as excavators and dumper-trucks started the clean-up operation. Despite warnings that anyone who took the cargo could be fined up to £2,500, a few residents still managed to purloin some of the wood. Damien Adams, head of West Sussex CC's emergency management team, said: ‘We are extremely concerned about the number of people who have been going on to the beaches, some of them retrieving wood, while others have been just watching. ‘There are now very large excavators on many of the beaches, which pose a real danger to sightseers. ‘We have had to close the beaches for safety reasons, and no-one can say at this stage when they will reopen.'
