The body of a woman was recovered from a duck pond in Hailsham early today.

It is believed the woman, in her 60s, had been dead in the water at Common Pond for several hours before she was discovered by a passer-by at 12.10am.

Underwater dive teams pulled the body from the pond while police threw a cordon round the area.

Up to 25 police officers were this morning carrying out house to house inquiries.

A force spokesman said: "It is believed the woman was in the water for a number of hours, possibly as early as 5pm yesterday."

He said it was too early to tell how she died or how she came to be in the water.

The pond is about 200 yards wide with an island in the middle. It is in a residential area, five minutes from the centre of Hailsham.

A post-mortem examination is expected to take place later today.