Five men who died at Camber Sands yesterday were on a day trip from London, according to police.

One of the victims, named as Nithasan Ravi, drove to the resort with four friends, his brother told the BBC.

He identified two of the other men as Kobi and Ken Nathan, from Erith.

The brother of Mr Ravi identified a fourth victim only as Kurushanth. The identity of the fifth man is not yet clear.

They were pulled from the water at Camber Sands yesterday. Despite efforts to save them, all died at the scene.

Chief Superintendent Di Roskilly of Sussex Police has now issed a statement, saying: "We believe we now know who the men are and that they came to the beach together for the day.

"We believe they are all in their late teens and early 20s and come from the Greater London area.

"These men were not fully clothed when they were pulled from the sea but wearing clothes appropriate for being at the beach for the day.

The Coastguard earlier confirmed that no search was ongoing, despite overnight reports that a sixth man might also be missing.

Chf Supt Roskilly continued: "We have no further reports of anyone else missing from Camber and there are no on-going searches related to this incident.

"This has been an incredibly tragic incident and we are offering their next of kin support at this difficult time and our thoughts are with them."

Emergency services were called to the beach at 2.10pm to reports of a person in the sea.

While they were on scene another person was seen in difficulty at 2.20pm and 15 minutes later a third person was rescued.

The bodies of a further two men were found between 8.15pm and 8.45pm, once high tide waters receded .