Take a look at 16 photos as the clean-up of more than one billion plastic 'nurdles' from the North East coastline continues. The Port of Tyne, working alongside both South Tyneside and North Tyneside councils, has been clearing the pellets.

This comes after the incident on Sunday, July 19, after a collision in South Shields, between the ship Wind Orca and a container ship. Damage to a container, containing around 25 tonnes of the small beads, led to them littering the sea itself, the River Tyne, and washing up on beaches, leading to the major environmental operation.

Dog walkers have been warned to stay away from Littlehaven beach, where the largest population of 'nurdles' was found, while there has been pellets found in areas such as Seaburn and Roker in Sunderland, raising concerns around the impact they may have on the region's wildlife.

In a statement, the Port of Tyne said: "Responding to the collision is a multi-faceted and complex salvage operation which cannot be hurried. Safety and the welfare of everyone working on the site is and must remain our priority.

"Our response plan to the pellet spill was activated immediately we became aware of it. It involves a number of actions, including helping contain any further spill of pellets and getting boats out on the river as a matter of urgency to clear pellets from the water.

"We will continue to work with local authorities and other agencies as everyone works hard to minimise the effect of the pellet spill."

Royal Quays Marina has also confirmed that it will commence its own clean-up operations today, supported by specialist pollution response contractor Ambipar. This will focus on the areas where pellets have 'naturally accumulated on the marina', with visitors asked to 'take care'.

Continue below to see a series of photographs of the Port of Tyne's efforts to clean-up the 'nurdle' spill, with this works set to continue over the weekend.

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