A Sussex pensioner has been found dead in a river after he took a Bank Holiday trip to visit relatives.

The body of 66-year-old Paul Thorpe of Kingsway, Hove, was discovered floating downstream in the muddy Great Ouse river at Holywell, near St Ives, Cambridgeshire.

Shocked boat owners and pleasure boat passenger alerted police as the body of Mr Thorpe floated past at lunchtime on Sunday.

Inspector John Van Wyke of Cambridgeshire Police said: "It was a distressing experience for those people who were enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend on the river."

Police later said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Thorpe, a recently retired machine tool operator.

He had lived in a one-bedroom flat in Kingsway for about three years.

He visited relatives in Cambridgeshire at least once a year and had booked into a hotel in Peterborough during the Bank Holiday weekend.

He made the short journey from Peterborough to St Ives on Sunday morning.

His landlord David Jones said: "This is a great shock. He was one of the nicest and most honest men you could meet.

"He was a keen cricket fan and popular with the other tenants, but led a quiet life. I hardly ever saw anyone call on him."