White powder sent to US laboratory after granules wash up on beach between Filey and Bempton cliffs
Mystery granules washed up on a notorious "wrecks coast" in Yorkshire have been sent to the US for analysis after tests in the UK failed to identify their origin.
The layer of white powder has closed three miles of sandy beach at Hunmanby Gap between Filey and Britain's biggest seabird nesting colony on Bempton cliffs.
Police and coastguards are patrolling the stretch which was busy with holidaymakers over the Easter weekend. The sands were sealed off on Wednesday lunchtime when visitors reported the flotsam coming ashore.
Specialists from North Yorkshire police are working with the Health Protection Agency, the Environment Agency and Scarborough borough council to clear the slick and search for any packaging which might identify the material. Tests at the site suggested that the material might have been contaminated by prolonged exposure to sea water, leading to the decision to involve a US laboratory.
The long line of cliffs has seen hundreds of wrecks over the years along with a history of curious salvage from the North Sea.
The most remarkable was the hauling of a generator up the rock face from a submarine which ran aground in 1921. Helped by "climmers", who made a living shinning down ropes to take seabirds' eggs for collectors, a salvage expert installed the generator in a local engineering factory which it powered along with two nearby houses. The rest of Hunmanby did not get electric light until 1931.
Inspector Leo Suret of North Yorkshire police said: "The powder is along the high tide mark so it's obviously come from the sea, but we have absolutely no idea how it's got there. Our primary concern is public safety, both for the people using the beach and animals, and we want to make sure that nobody is going to be harmed."
A spokeswoman for the force said: "As a precaution, the beach has been closed to members of the public and police are asking people to observe the closures until the precise nature of the items has been identified and officers are satisfied there is no longer a health risk.
Police sealed off part of neighbouring Filey beach at the weekend after the discovery of a second world war hand grenade. The stretch of coast was heavily fortified against invasion in 1940.