Thousands of nurdles, which pose a danger to wildlife, have begun to wash up on Norfolk beaches and the surrounding coast

An operation is under way to retrieve thousands of plastic pellets from the North Sea that were spilt in a collision between two ships last week, in which one man died.

The coastguard said the pellets, made of plastic resin and known as nurdles, were spotted by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and have begun to wash up in melted clumps on beaches in Norfolk and the surrounding coast.

Although they are not toxic, they do pose a danger to wildlife, the coastguard said.