A man has died in an accident on a fishing boat at sea. 

The incident took place in the early hours of this morning off the coast of Sussex. 

Sussex Police confirmed that a man was dead on the boat, the Honeybourne III, and that they received a call at around 1.40am today to say there was a mayday call coming from a vessel at sea. 

A spokesman for the force said: "Sadly, a man was confirmed to have died on the boat.

"The vessel was brought into Shoreham, where it was met by officers from Sussex Police and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB).

"No suspicious circumstances were identified by police and officers are now supporting the MAIB investigation."

Andrew Brown, director of public affairs at Macduff Shellfish, the company which owns the boat, said: "There was an accident on the Honeybourne III and it has returned to the port.

"Sadly, there has been one crew member fatality.

"Our thoughts are with the deceased's family and the crew. We are providing support to the crew."