A writer, who shot to fame when he unsuccessfully sued the novelist Dan Brown, has died in Brighton.

Michael Baigent, of Midhurst, claimed The Da Vinci Code author had stolen his ideas and used them in the best-selling thriller.

He died on Monday at the age of 65 of a brain hemorrhage, his agent, Ann Evans said.

Mr Baigent had a bestseller of his own in 1982 with The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which he wrote with Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln.

The book shared a number of plot elements with The Da Vinci Code, which was published in 2003 and adapted for a film in 2006.

Mr Baigent and Mr Leigh sued Mr Brown’s publisher, Random House, for copyright infringement, but failed.