A best-selling crime writer has revealed how a stunt promoting his new book nearly went wrong.

Peter James recreated a scene from his novel in the Roy Grace series Dead Man’s Grip where he played the part of a body in a van pulled from the water.

The “body” was carried out of the van on a stretcher at Shoreham Harbour on Thursday and to the surprise of the 500 guests Mr James pulled off a mask to reveal it was him all along.

However, divers from the harbour and organisers had to think fast after the stunt began to go wrong about halfway through.

Mr James, who had dived into the harbour which was unknown to his guests, was supposed to get into the van whilst it was underwater.

But the pressure of the water stopped the door from opening and he was forced to slip into the vehicle hidden from the crowd once it was on dry land.

Many police officers were invited to the launch and about 40 turned up, including Sussex Police Chief Constable Martin Richards and Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett.

Members of the Specialist Search Unit, who feature in the current book, were also at the launch and a spokeswoman for Sussex Police said they took the opportunity to show guests how the unit works.

She added: “Peter James is a strong supporter of Sussex Police, contributing to charity and community events, and we were happy for individuals to support his book launch, all at no expense to taxpayers.”