Scores of mollusc harvesters have been accused of 'raping' the beach at Shotley Gate and depriving feeding birds of their natural habitat.

Groups have travelled from as far as Manchester, Cambridge and London, to forage bucketfuls of oysters, clams, mussels and cockles from the muddy Stour estuary at low tide.

While it is legal to collect shellfish from your own consumption, a license is required for any commercial harvesting and there is an inherent danger in eating molluscs without any purification.

Residents have been angered by the sheer number of people who have swarmed onto Shotley beach to forage, which also scares off the thousands of wild birds that would ordinarily feed on the foreshore.

Saffy Scholes told Nub News: "The odd bucket is fair enough but these people are raping the beach.

"They are now arriving every day in big numbers, there is no way it is just to have a meal at home, they have huge cool boxes and all the gear. Even if the limit is 5kg, then this is way over the top."

But one woman from a group who had travelled down from Manchester insisted they were doing nothing wrong.

She was watching from the picnic area as seven of her friends picked their way along the beach and said whatever they collected was just to eat at home.

She identified herself as Lisa and told Nub News: "It is a long way to come but we heard it was a good place to collect oysters and was a beautiful area.

"We left at 5.30am to be here and it was raining in Manchester when we left but it is worth it. It is a good day out, the shellfish are much nicer than those you can buy locally.

"One old man said something about needing a permit, but I don't think we do for what we collect."

Another resident told Nub News she had spoken to some from Cambridge and warned then of the dangers. She reported the pickers as was concerned for their welfare.

Many of the those collecting the molluscs were in an area right next to the RSPB Stour Estuary Nature Reserve.

The police, RSPB, Babergh council and the Marine Management Organisation have all been contacted.

The commercial production and sale of live bivalve molluscs, eg, clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, etc. is strictly controlled as they have the potential to cause serious illness due to the way in which they feed.

The consumption of contaminated shellfish can cause illness with a range of symptoms from vomiting and diarrhoea to partial paralysis and even death. Live bivalve molluscs are filter feeders therefore any contaminants in the water such as E.coli, viruses and algal toxins can be retained in their flesh. It is critical that gatherers and merchants comply with the shellfish legislation to prevent food poisoning occurring.

EC Regulations 853/2004 and 854/2004 set out criteria relating to the commercial production and sale of live bivalve molluscs from classified production areas. These regulations are law in the UK and are implemented by means of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.

There are three categories:

B class - bivalve molluscs can be marketed for human consumption after purification in an approved plant or after relaying in an approved class A relaying area or after being subjected to an EC approved heat treatment process.

Unclassified areas - bivalve molluscs must not be subject to production or be collected.