Hello All,

I live in South Essex, and around ten days ago I noticed lots of small specks on my car, which I assumed at the time to be some sort of airborne seed casings, so I just brushed them off.  The following day they were back again, albeit not quite as many.  On closer inspection, they are small gritty lumps 3 – 4mm across (not unlike specks of mud).  This time I washed them off, not wanting to damage the paintwork.  I’ve also noticed them on the north side of our conservatory, and the back doors of my neighbours van (that also faces north).  Up until now they are still appearing, but only a few at a time.

Also, while collecting this sample, one of the pieces was damp (so I guess it had just appeared) and it smeared across the paper used to collect the sample.

I’ve contacted the Met Office, but they have no suggestions and indicated no reports of “Sahara dust”.  And my local authority were no help (no surprise there).

I’ve also contacted the Environment Agency but still await their response.

Any ideas or thoughts as to what they might be and where they’ve come from?  Or whom else I could contact?

I’ve tried to upload an image of said debris, but the forum doesn’t seem to like msg files.  Unless anyone out there knows if there’s a way?