Coastguards searched the sea for two-and-a-half-hours last night after a pile of clothes was found on a beach.

A naked man was seen swimming near Duke's Mound, by Brighton Marina, late yesterday afternoon.

Shortly before 6pm a passer-by found a set of clothes, including shoes and underwear, and called the police.

A lifeboat, coastguard boat and coastguard helicopter searched the area until darkness fell just before 8.30pm. Nobody was found.

A coastguard spokesman said: "The winds were onshore. We saturated the whole area during the search, which has now been discontinued."