Timber from wreck closes Sussex beaches

ALL West Sussex beaches, from Ferring to Shoreham,have been closed indefinitely as more than 2,000 tons of timber from the sunken vessel Ice Prince is being retrieved by an army of salvage workers.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Jan 2008, 16:47 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 04:31 BST

Police have mounted a major operation to prevent looters from helping themselves to the timber, and the closure was also prompted by concerns that large excavators on many of the beaches posed a real danger to sightseers.

The sight of the mountains of timber washed up on beaches had attracted huge numbers of people to the beaches. Some of them had been retrieving wood, while others had just been watching.

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There is no indication of when the beaches might be re-opened to the public.

The Ice Prince had been on her way to Egypt when she sank on Tuesday last week off the Devon coast. Her crew was safely rescued.

Gales and rough seas, along with tidal drift, has led to huge amounts of her cargo being washed up on West Sussex shores.

There were fears that the rough seas could hurl the wood against shingle banks and groynes, causing flood defence damage. However there was only one unconfirmed report of minor damage at Shoreham.

For Picture Special see West Sussex Gazette January 23

Related topics:ShorehamSussexFerringPoliceEgypt