MURDER detectives have announced that the sudden death of a man is no longer being treated as suspicious.

A murder investigation was launched after Sussex Police responded to a report of a man unconscious in High Street, Storrington, shortly after 10am on Sunday.

Despite the efforts of emergency services to resuscitate the 49-year-old man, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination was conducted on Wednesday at Worthing Hospital. 

Following the outcome of this examination, detectives do not believe that the man died as a result of the actions of another person.

The specific cause of death is still under investigation, however.

A 78-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday has now been released from bail and is no longer a suspect in connection with the incident.

A force spokesman said: “Sussex Police has a duty to protect the public and will always rigorously investigate the circumstances of deaths that could possibly be caused by others.

“We do this to keep our communities safe and to ensure that potential serious crime is thoroughly investigated.”

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Wolstenholme of the Surrey and Sussex major crime team, said: “Understandably this tragic incident shocked the village of Storrington, and left a family with a most terrible loss.

"We are sorry for this tragedy and our thoughts are with the family and friends as we continue to support them in understanding what happened to their loved one. 

“Based on the evidence that we were presented with on Sunday, it was necessary to make an arrest and investigate further.

"My team worked swiftly and effectively to gather evidence quickly, and we have today been able to eliminate the arrested man from our enquiry as we are sure that he played no part in the sad death of the individual.

“While the actual cause of death is still under investigation, we are able to reassure the community that no third party was involved in this sad death.

"I am thankful to the residents of Storrington for the respect they showed to the deceased man while the area was cordoned off by police, to those who responded to the witness appeal, and to the local business who provided iced water to our team on a hot day.”   

Police will continue to probe the circumstances of this death on behalf of HM Coroner.