The charred body of a woman was discovered in a flat after neighbours smelled burning.

Paramedics and firefighters made the gruesome discovery in the lounge of a one-bedroom flat in Perth Court, Upper Avenue, Eastbourne, yesterday.

The emergency services were called to the four-storey building at 11.40am.

The woman was found in the lounge of the second-floor flat where there was evidence of a small fire that had gone out by the time firefighters arrived. A spokesman for Eastbourne fire station said the cause of the fire was being investigated.

Police believed the woman had lived in the block of eight flats and four bedsits since last February.

She was understood to have lived alone.

The flats are mainly council-owned but some residents had chosen to buy them from the local authority.

A police spokesman said today the death was not being treated as suspicious following a post-mortem examination carried out yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters said the cause of the small fire had not yet been confirmed. The woman's identity was due to be released later today.