A man and woman have plunged to their deaths at notorious suicide spot Beachy Head.

The pair were reported missing at the 525ft cliff top near Eastbourne shortly after 9am yesterday.

A search by the Birling Gap cliff rescue team discovered two bodies close to each other about halfway down the cliff, just east of the Beachy Head lighthouse.

Police have refused to comment on whether suicide was suspected but a Dover Coastguard spokesman said the deaths were linked.

Coastguard officials were alerted by Sussex Police, who were in turn contacted about the missing pair by another force.

It has been reported the man, believed to be in his 50s and from Exeter, Devon, had been charged with rape and was awaiting trial.

Efforts to retrieve the bodies were hampered by choppy seas.

A tow had to be placed on the Eastbourne inshore lifeboat so it could be dragged out to sea as walkers watched from the cliff top.

The bodies were eventually brought to the base of the cliff before being transferred to Eastbourne District General Hospital.

A Sussex Police spokesman said: "At 9.10am this morning officers from Eastbourne police attended Beachy Head in response to a message from another police force.

"A full search of the area was made by officers with the help of the force helicopter and coastguards. During the search two bodies were found. They were taken ashore by coastguards then transferred to hospital."

East Sussex coroner Alan Craze's office has been informed and an inquest is likely to be held.

The discovery was made as it emerged a record 34 people died at Beachy Head in 2004 - almost double the annual average.

The total - eight higher than the previous record toll of 26 in 1990 - is equivalent to one death at Beachy Head almost every ten days.

The rise comes despite the launch of a team, dubbed the Clifftop Angels, which patrols the area trying to halt suicides.

The six-strong team of church volunteers, called the Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team, walk along the mile-long stretch of coastline every evening between 6.45pm and midnight.

Beachy Head is thought to have attracted renewed notoriety after a gangland murder, in which police believe Orville Gordon was stabbed, then rolled over the cliff edge in a barrel last January.

Research contained in the British Medical Journal showed that publicity, particularly portrayals on television, can result in copycat suicides.

An inquest into the death of 39-year-old Mr Gordon, of no fixed address, takes place in Eastbourne on January 11.

A spokesman for the Samaritans said Christmas was a difficult time for people suffering from depression.