Beachgoers in England were in for a surprise last week when what looked like a shoreline of colorful stones turned out to be an avalanche of onions washed in by the tide. Then they turned the corner. What appeared to be yellow sand, like something from a tropical island, turned out to be a sea of French fries.

The surreal scene looked ripped from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. It arrived courtesy of a “Lombok Strait” container ship. During a storm at sea, the vessel lost 17 refrigerated containers packed with food.

Brand Marine, a salvage company, said it “is closely cooperating with local authorities and the UK’s HM Coast Guard on the process of locating and salvaging the containers.” Residents of Eastbourne, in East Sussex, located two of the containers that fell off the boat first. Or rather, they found the containers’ contents.

Whimsical spill or environmental disaster?

The only problem with the whimsical flotsam was its packaging. The food arrived sealed in plastic bags. Environmental group Plastic Free Eastbourne warned, “Plastic pollution is a serious threat to the ocean.”

The group added, “Seals and other marine life often mistake plastic for food, especially plastic bags, which can look like jellyfish in the water.”

After the first wave washed ashore, residents volunteered to help clean up the beach. Local volunteer Joel Bonnici said he was collecting onion bags when the second wave arrived.

“Like everyone has been doing to help out, we were picking up the last of the onion bags as we went,” Bonnici said. “We did not expect to turn the corner and see a new scene.”

“From a distance, you would think the beach was covered in yellow sand like you would see on a tropical island,” he added.

?Covered French Fries, Onions and Chips on the English Beach – A Strange Incident Caused by a Cargo Ship Accident..|#Accident@journalistlegi#EnglishBeach #Covered #FrenchFries #Onion #CargoShip #Spill #SriLanka #LKA #SL pic.twitter.com/yfSdPa13oS

— Journalist Leginthan (@journalistlegi) January 20, 2026