The bodies of three women were recovered from the sea in Brighton on Tuesday after emergency services were called to concerns for their welfare at about 05:45 BST. Sussex Police said the women were found in the water near Madeira Drive, on the eastern side of Brighton Palace Pier.

Chief Superintendent Adam Hays said the incident was tragic and that fast-moving inquiries were under way to confirm the identities of the three women and establish exactly what happened. He also asked people to stay away from the scene while emergency services continued their work.

Madeira Drive runs along the seafront to the east of Brighton Palace Pier, and the area remained the focus of a breaking police response as the investigation continued. Police said the identities of the women had not yet been confirmed and did not say what happened before they were found in the sea.

Hays said the force would provide further updates as soon as they were available. For now, the central question is no longer whether something serious happened on Brighton seafront, but who the women were and how they came to be in the water.