At both Worthing and Shoreham people have been flocking to the beach to see the unusual sight of large planks of wood amongst the pebbles.

The cargo ship Ice Prince was on her way to Greece with more than 5,000 tons of wood when she sank 25 nautical miles south of Portland on Monday.

Her crew of 20 was rescued, but some of the timber they were transporting was lost to the sea.

It is thought as much as 2,000 tonnes of the timber could reach the south coastline over the next few days due to the strong winds and rain which are expected to continue.

It is still considered too risky to attempt a rescue operation of the ship because of the severe weather.

There are concerns that the sea could throw the timber against shingle banks and groynes, causing flood defence damage.

There are also a number of sensitive areas along the coastline facing potential damage.

Chichester, Littlehampton and Shoreham Harbours are issuing notices to mariners as the floating wood could be a hazard to vessels, particularly small pleasure craft and small fishing boats.

Pagham Harbour is monitoring any environmental consequences – especially if wood should block the entrance or enter the salt marshes in the harbour.

A meeting of agencies involved was held at County Hall in Chichester this morning, to co-ordinate plans for recovering the wood, which was stored in 10-metre bundles.

Some bundles are reported to be breaking up and there is a hazard to shipping. The meeting was warned that the operation to recover the timber could last several months.

The owners of the cargo have now appointed salvors to recover the timber, and police have been given the role of ensuring unauthorised people do not try to remove it from the beach.

Temporary storage sites near beaches are now being designated.

West Sussex County Council is co-ordinating action in an easterly direction, including environmental issues, ports and harbours.

Borough and district councils are on standby to help the salvors, and are also providing information about owners of property on their foreshores.

The key message from recovery teams – please report any wood you find on the beaches, but don't try and take it, or you could face arrest.

Peter Evans, West Sussex County Council cabinet member for public protection, said: "I must stress that people should not try to take any of the wood for themselves.

"They could face a fine of up to two-and-a-half thousand pounds.

"It could also be very dangerous to try and carry off such large pieces of wood."

Anyone finding timber on the beach should call Solent Coastguard on 02392 559021 or 02392 559022 and provide details of where the cargo was found, and how much is actually on the beach.

Anyone discovering dead birds or other wildlife should contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 and they will deal with the incident.

"The county council has robust plans to deal with all types of marine pollution, and has been working closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and other partner agencies on a co-ordinated response," Peter added.

"We don't expect that oil from the Ice Prince will pose any problems along the south coast, however, we will be monitoring the entire situation throughout the weekend. We are determined to minimise any damage that could be caused by this timber washing ashore."

Have you been to the beach to look at the wood?

Let us know what you've seen by commenting in the space below, emailing sarah.booker@worthingtoday.co.uk
You can also send in your photographs to the email above.

Keep an eye on the website for photographs for updates.