A BODY has been found in a ditch.

Passersby spotted the corpse in a River Adur drainage ditch yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.

They called police to the site just off the A283 Steyning-by-pass, south of Upper Beeding, at 4.40pm. 

Police said the body appeared "to have been there for some time" and it was not yet possible to say whether it was that of a man or a woman.

They are treating the death as "unexplained".

A Sussex Police spokesman added: "Preparations are being made to recover the body safely for examination."