Wood you believe it!?

Thousands of pieces of timber have been washed up on the beaches across southern England after a cargo ship sank off the Dorset coast. Coastguards said the timber, several feet deep on the tide line, now stretched along the Sussex coast and was moving east towards Kent's coast.

The Greek-registered Ice Prince sunk about 26 miles (42km) off the coast after a storm. More than 2,000 tonnes of timber have drifted 100 miles through the Channel. Solent coastguard said timber had washed up all the way from Littlehampton in West Sussex to Beachy Head in East Sussex.

He said: "What's there on the beach will stay until it is removed by contractors authorised by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Any other wood in the Channel will move to and fro with the tides."

He said coastguards were unable to predict where timber in the water would drift, because it could depend on whether it was affected by the wind.

Dover coastguard used an aircraft on Monday to assess how far the timber had travelled. West Sussex County Council said there were unconfirmed reports of minor damage to sea defences.

It said people taking the wood had become a "serious problem".

A spokesman said: "Lots of people have been turning up, including men in vans taking a load - a significant number of people."

Sussex Police have issued a warning to say removing the timber is unlawful, and if people continue to take the wood, they could be liable to prosecution and arrest under the Merchant Shipping Act.

Worthing beach was closed at the weekend to allow heavy machinery to remove the washed-up cargo.