Possible yes, which means the shingle was taken illegally… You are not allowed by law to remove beach shingle.

this was a large firm well known in the area if it was dredged surely that is not illegal i need to be sure of my facts before i take this further as the customer has already paid good money for this .

If you need to be "sure of your facts" Scott, then you need to take local proffesional advice rather that putting such a general question up on a social media site. We cannot see or examine the material supplied to you so can only give very general advice.

Then ask the company you bought the shingle from where it came from and if they ha a licence to remove the shingle. To be honest I do not understand why any gardener wants a shingle garden… if you want that go live next to a beach! This fad/craze for odd gardens needs to stop in my view!

I am not familiar with the word shingle used in this context. Does it mean beach stone or gravel? Thank you.

It's small beach pebbles or stones Loosestrife.

Scott, this would almost certainly have been in the shingle. Whether you have a claim against the company that provided it is arguable. For example, did you specify that you needed it to be free from organic matter and plant life, almost impossible to achieve, or did you just order beach shingle, in which case the company have fulfilled their obligation.

I smell a rat myself . big company doesn't mean a thing as jobs are not always done bye said big company . if you go to a builders and ask for shingle that's what you get .

Quite NP

And the moral of this story is...If you absolutely must have shingle, buy it washed!

Indeed Stera.

moone growe i put the shingle in for customer not myself i hate shingle but its my job i have cascading lawns with perrenial garden and rose borders and fruit tree no shingle

I understand that Scott, just don't see the point in covering a garden in shingle… Each to their own I guess.