A window cleaner fell 30ft to his death from a first-floor window in Hove this morning.

The man fell from the window of the Parish Rooms next to the Church of the Sacred Heart in Norton Road.

A passer-by saw the victim and called an ambulance. Paramedics attended the scene but the man is believed to have died instantly in the fall just after 8am.

Deacon Paul Scholey was in the presbytery at the time but knew nothing of the tragedy until the ambulance arrived.

Diocesan Press officer Father Kevin Dring said: "At some point this morning the window cleaner was working on the first floor and appears to have fallen from the window.

"He fell into the basement and tragically died immediately and, please God, he did not suffer. How he fell and what caused him to fall is still not clear.

"Both the police and the coroner's office are carrying out routine investigations but at this stage it seems to be nothing more than a tragic accident.

"Health and Safety Executive inspectors have also been to the scene this morning to carry out investigations."

Fr Dring said the window cleaner was familiar with the layout of the building and would have considered cleaning the first-floor window a routine matter.

He said the Roman Catholic Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Bishop Kieran Conry, had been informed.

Father Dring said: "Our thoughts are with this man's family at this terrible time and prayers will be said for him throughout the diocese."

Detective Constable Phil Herring of Hove police said: "Our investigations are still at an early stage but it seems a straightforward case that he slipped as fell."