Sussex Police are no longer treating the sudden death of a man in Sussex as suspicious.

Officers were called to the High Street in Storrington, West Sussex, shortly after 10am on Sunday after a man was found unconscious in the road.

The man, aged 49, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A forensic post-mortem examination was conducted on Wednesday at Worthing Hospital. While the cause of death is still under investigation, detectives were able to ascertain that the man had not died as the result of the actions of another person.

As a result, a 78-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder on Sunday has been released from bail and is no longer a suspect in connection with the incident.

DCI Andy Wolstenholme, of the Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team, said: “Understandably this tragic incident shocked the village of Storrington, and left a family with a most terrible loss; we are sorry for this tragedy and our thoughts are with the family and friends as we continue to support them in understanding what happened to their loved one.

“Based on the evidence that we were presented with on Sunday, it was necessary to make an arrest and investigate further.

“My team worked swiftly and effectively to gather evidence quickly, and we have today been able to eliminate the arrested man from our inquiry as we are sure he played no part in the sad death of the individual.

“While the actual cause of death is still under investigation, we are able to reassure the community that no third party was involved in this sad death.

“I am thankful to the residents of Storrington for the respect they showed to the deceased man while the area was cordoned off by police, to those who responded to the witness appeal, and to the local business who provided iced water to our team on a hot day.”

Sussex Police will continue to investigate the circumstances of this death on behalf of HM Coroner.