Worthing pier: People vomiting with sore eyes after 'hazardous incident'

Emergency services forced to evacuate pier

Emergency services have been forced to evacuate a pier in Worthing after holidaymakers complained of sore eyes and vomiting.

Sussex Police said they are responding to a hazardous material incident and are bringing people off Worthing pier.

A number of people on Twitter say they have been evacuated from the seafront in the Sussex resort.

"A small number of people have reported symptoms including sore eyes and vomiting," a spokesperson for the force said.

"The investigation is ongoing and we will release more information as soon as we are able to."

A two-mile cordon has been set up on Worthing seafront and is in place along Marine Parade between Grand Avenue and Windsor Road.

Police have advised people to shut all windows and doors and steer clear of the area.

"Hello, we've just been evacuated from Worthing Pier due to suspected chemical incident," one man asked Sussex Police on Twitter. "How dangerous is this and what symptoms should we be aware of?"

"No one is on the pier and I'm on the beach," another man at the scene posted on Facebook. "Apparently they reckon there is a chemical spill causing all of this and we're not allowed to open".

It comes after a water company’s bid to to scare seagulls away from Worthing in a bid to reduce “bird pollution” was suspended in the wake of a local outcry last month.

Using hawks, falconers were employed by Southern Water for the mission, in an attempt to stop the birds from defecating into the sea and onto the beach.

However, onlookers on the beach are believed to have called the police after witnessing herring gulls, which are a protected species, in an apparent state of distress.