A middle-aged woman dressed only in her night gown was found dead on a West Sussex railway line today.

The body was discovered at 3am by a rail worker checking a stretch of track in the Woodgate crossing area between Chichester and Barnham.

British Transport Police say the woman had not been hit by a train and a post-mortem examination was due to be held.

Inspector Gary Ancell said: "The death is not being treated as suspicious and at this stage we do not know who the woman is. She had not been struck by a train or fallen from one."

There were some delays to early morning services in the Barnham area.