Train passengers watched in horror as a man jumped to his death from a railway bridge at a station.

The man threw himself onto the tracks from a footbridge at Durrington station, near Worthing, at lunchtime yesterday.

A horrified member of the public phoned British Transport Police immediately.

The electric charge was turned off straight after the call to police and all trains to the station were stopped.

Paramedics from South East Coast Ambulance Service were dispatched to the scene but could do nothing for the man. They pronounced him dead at 1.20pm.

The man, who has not yet been named, was white and in his mid 30s.

British Transport Police spokeswoman Natalie Davison said: "We got a call at 1.10pm from a member of the public who had seen a male jump from a railway bridge above the line.

"He wasn't hit by a train or the electrified rail but unfortunately he died as a result of his injuries."

She said it appeared that the jump had been intentional.

Sussex Police officers were first on the scene and were soon joined by members of British Transport Police, who have authority to access the track.

Ms Davison said the death was not being treated as suspicious. Officers were last night trying to confirm who the man was.

She said: "Investigations are continuing. A report will be prepared for the coroner."

There were no trains in the section of the rail network at the time. The line was closed until 1.50pm.

A spokeswoman for Southern trains said services were brought to a standstill.

Trains from Brighton to Littlehampton were affected, as well as trains from London to Littlehampton or Southampton via Hove. There were still delays of up to 45 minutes three hours after the tragedy.

Yesterday's death was the latest suicide attempt on Sussex's railway lines.

Last month a 46-year-old woman from Worthing leapt onto the track at Lancing but walked away without a scratch after a 70mph train passed directly over her.

In February last year a woman died after throwing herself in front of a 70mph at Hampden Park railway station in Eastbourne. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The train driver was treated for shock.

In 2004 a man was seriously injured after jumping off Shaftesbury Bridge over the track in Shaftesbury Avenue, Durrington. He was treated for a broken pelvis and back injuries.

Two men had to be talked down by police from railway bridges in Durrington with a few weeks of each other in December 1999.