Containers burst on beach

ABOUT 20 tonnes of cotton waste material were washed up on the east coast yesterday after six containers were swept overboard from a Cyprus-registered cargo ship, The Christian, in stormy weather. The material, which is non- toxic and used in the oil industry for cleaning up spillages, landed on Eyemouth beach in Berwickshire, after Thursday night's torrential rain and gale-force winds.

Two of the containers burst open on the beach, one caught on rocks and the other three were last night still floating in the North Sea.