A murder inquiry was launched today after the discovery of a man's body in a back street.

The man, who had chest and neck injuries, was found by a member of the public near Elder Place, Brighton, behind New England House Business Centre.

Dozens of workers were sent home after police cordonned off the centre to conduct forensic tests on the body and surrounding area.

Initially, it was believed the man may have fallen from the building but police now suspect the man was murdered and have launched a probe under the codename Operation Mitre.

The man, thought to be in his 30s, has not yet been identified. He was of Mediterranean appearance, with curly dark hair and was wearing a beige jacket and green combat trousers.

A post-mortem examination will be carried out this afternoon.

A police spokeswoman said: "We received a call at 6.27am from the ambulance service, who had been contacted by a member of the public.

"The man had chest and neck injuries but until the post-mortem is complete we not know exactly how he died. New England House was closed off because of its close proximity to the site where the body was found.

"Everywhere that has been cordonned off is a potential crime scene."

The gruesome discovery came as no surprise to people working in the area who said they often feared for their own safety.

Anthony Willey, acting manager of Sussex Stationers Bookshop, which backs onto Elder Place, said: "I always feel threatened walked along this street, even in the day. Some odd people hang around and I never feel safe. It would be a good idea to install CCTV cameras."

Anthony Simmons, who runs Mobile Tyres in Providence Place, agreed, saying: "This is no great shock."

Dozens of workers were unable to get inside council-owned New England House, which houses 70 companies.

Among them was Michael Upton who runs a call centre, collecting money for charities, called Pure Associates Ltd.

He said: "I arrived at 9.15am and was told I would not be allowed inside, perhaps for the whole day. Not being able to get into the office for a day will undoubtedly have a negative affect on business, because we cannot operate without our computers."

A council spokeswoman said: "We are co-operating fully with the police inquiry and are awaiting their instruction on when the building should be reopened."