A headless body has been discovered in the sea off the coast of Kent.

Police said that the man’s body was found near the pier in Deal, Kent, this morning after being spotted by a member of the public.

A large part of the beach was cordoned off and people were moved away from the scene shortly after 10am.

Police have said the death is not being treated as suspicious and the body was retrieved from the water by members of the RNLI.

A Kent Police spokesman said: ‘Officers were called at 10.12am following the discovery of a man’s body in the water near Deal Pier.

‘Officers remain at the scene and are being assisted by the coastguard, lifeboat crews and South East Coast Ambulance Service. The death is not currently being treated as suspicious and inquiries to confirm the man’s identity are ongoing.’

The inshore lifeboat from Walmer was initially launched at 10.07am after the headless body was spotted and its crew retrieved the corpse back to the lifeboat station.

Police are now working to identify the man and a post mortem examination will take place to try and work out the cause of death.

A Maritime Coastguard Agency spokesman said they were assisting police.

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