A suspected shoplifter died today when she ran out of a store, on to a 70mph dual carriageway and into the path of three vehicles.

The woman, in her mid 30s and from Hove, died instantly from multiple injuries.

Police were relying on fingerprints to confirm her identity, which has not yet been released.

Goods from the store, including children's items, were found scattered along the A27 near Southwick Hill Tunnel, where the accident happened at 1.20am today.

Minutes earlier, staff at the nearby Tesco store at Holmbush, Shoreham, had given chase as the woman fled with two men through a fire door.

Police said staff were not pursuing her when she climbed an embankment and crossed the eastbournd A27 Shoreham bypass.

The three drivers had no chance of avoiding the woman, who was wearing black clothing. They all suffered shock.

The road was closed for five hours.

One man who saw the woman in the store said: "She spoke to my wife, thinking she worked there. She asked where hair products were.

"We next spotted her crouching behind pallets in another aisle.

"She was talking on her mobile phone and winked at me when she saw me.

"She was wearing black leather trousers and a black leather coat.

"Two guys came in and it seemed she was with them. They parked their white Astra in a bay for the disabled.

"The alarms went off and we thought there was a fire. She had apparently gone through a fire exit and triggered the alarms.

"The night manager ran past us after her."

Tesco spokesman Greg Sage said today: "A security guard was waiting at the front of the store but she left through the fire exit at the back.

"The guard went to the rear but she was already on the embankment.

"This was very sad and tragic and our thoughts are with her family and friends. Our staff were shaken by what happened."

Police interviewed two men earlier today but they were not arrested.

The dead woman's identity is being withheld until relatives have been told.