A man found dead at a family pub in a Sussex beauty spot was an employee.

Police launched a major investigation yesterday after the body was found at the Devil's Dyke Brewer's Fayre, five miles north of Brighton, at 2.45pm.

The body was discovered in a bedroom at the popular pub, which overlooks the Downs.

There are no bedrooms open to the public and the room was used by live-in workers.

A police spokesman said: "Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

"However, a post-mortem examination will be carried out as it was a sudden death."

The pub remains closed today as a mark of respect.

Last night, nearby roads were sealed off until 10pm.

Detective Inspector Tony O'Donnell, of the Sussex Police major crime branch, was leading the investigation.

Officers remained at the scene for more than seven hours, focusing their search on a building at the back of the pub.

Landlord John Garvey was today unavailable for comment.

Lesly Hughes, a spokeswoman for Whitbread, which owns the Brewer's Fayre chain, said: "Employees at the pub are very upset by the death.

"They are being offered confidential counselling if they want it.

"The man's next of kin have not been contacted so we can't release his name."

The man's family are not believed to be from the area.