A once-beautiful and secluded section of coastline is now being used as a dump for human faeces and building waste, according to beachgoers.

Fossil hunter Daniel Hogburn says he has been left feeling physically sick after watching trucks tip rubbish off Sheppey's clifftops.

The 46-year-old, from Minster, said: "I witnessed and reported the very first load being tipped over the edge by Eastchurch Gap while on a walk collecting fossils in 2020.

"The dumping has been going on for over two years now.

"Having spent hundreds of hours over the last 10 years cleaning up this Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) coastline I feel deeply saddened and physically sick at the actions.

"The waste being dumped is mainly building contractors' waste, combined with huge amounts of plastics, some of which has been processed and shredded. It basically resembles that of landfill material.

"I'm disgruntled at Swale council, Natural England and the Environment Agency at their lack of action over the last two years and feel that this could have been prevented had appropriate action been taken sooner."

Daniel, who set up the North Sheppey Coastal Conservation and Preservation Community on Facebook, also says he can smell human faeces and urine when walking along the beach near Warden Bay.

"The smell was dreadful, it was definitely human and the smell was carried for some 500m leading up to Manor Way," he explained.

"My guess is that someone has dumped a tanker and buried the contents on the land at the top of Manor Way as we've seen digger activity there.

"It's hard to be sure what they're doing exactly though as you can't see them from the beach."

Plastics and polystyrene – including rolls of Tesco packaging – have also been washing up onto the shore from the sea, further down the coast.

Hotspots include Shellness beach and Warden bay.

Daniel said: "After the high winds there were lots of plastics, crazy amounts of polystyrene and one large roll of Tesco plum tomato wrap which has now been removed from the beach.

"In 2019 Eastchurch was once a beautiful and secluded section of coastline used by fishermen, fossil collectors, holiday makers, dog walkers and hikers.

"Sadly there is now literally hundreds, if not thousands, of loose wrappers stretching the full length of the coastline.

"I feel those dealing with and helping to clean up the mess at either side of the Island have the right to know where the majority of this rubbish is coming from."

Tesco has confirmed that an investigation is under way to understand why its packaging washed up on the beach.

A spokesman said: “We believe that no plastic packaging should end up as waste in the natural environment and issues like this are exceptionally rare.

"We were shocked by this image and have immediately begun investigating with our supplier to ensure this does not happen again.”

The Environment Agency has said that it is continuing to gather evidence as part of an investigation into reports of illegal dumping of waste on Sheppey.

A spokesman said: "The Environment Agency keeps enforcement options under constant review.

"In a recent local operation with Kent Police targeting waste carriers, we handed out nine fixed penalty notices totalling £2,300 for various offences.

“We urge anyone with new concerns about the area to contact us or the police.

“The Environment Agency’s powers to tackle waste crime include prosecuting those we believe are behind dumping waste illegally, which can lead to prison sentences.

"Among other measures, we can use court orders to close down sites. We know illegal waste activity harms the environment and has a devastating effect on communities.”

MP Gordon Henderson is aware of the rubbish building up on the Island's beaches and has spoken publicly about the issues.

Last year, he launched a stinging attack on Environment Agency officers at a public meeting about cliff dumping.

Speaking on the issue this week he said there was multi-agency activity happening between Swale Borough Council, Kent County Council, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the police, HMRC and Eastchurch Parish Council to stop the dumping at Eastchurch.

He added he would continue to press for the activity to be stopped, adding: "Anybody who has complained about rubbish washing up on Sheppey’s beaches can contact me and I will take the matter up with the Environment Agency and Swale Borough Council."

Earlier this month Mia Newbuey, a mum from Shellness, described the amount of litter washing up on the beach as an eco crime.

She said: "It's really bad and has been going on for years and years.

"I can easily fill up a few supermarket bags each time I'm out – I drag them along in absolute agony."

A Swale council spokesman said this month's weather was partly to blame for the amount of rubbish along the coastline.

He said: "We’ve had a month of sustained winds bringing debris and litter onto the beaches and we have been working to clear up as much as we can.

"We have daily pick-ups along the beach collecting litter and removing large items, but this is more challenging with the stronger winds at this time of year.

“We support organised beach cleans such as the ones run by the Medway Swale Estuary Partnership and we’re immensely grateful to the small army of individual volunteers who do their bit.

"We also have our #2minutebeachclean boards which give visitors to our beaches the chance to grab a litter picker and spend a couple of minutes picking up any litter they find.”