Bexhill man, 93, dies at Beachy Head

The body of Robert Batcheller, 93, was spotted by the Sussex Police helicopter on one its routine fly-pasts.

A ten-strong Coastguard cliff rescue team spent more than four hours recovering his body.

Police are not treating Mr Batcheller's death as suspicious.

His vehicle was found at the top of the cliffs after a relative reported him missing earlier that day.

The Coastguard cliff rescue team were called to recover the body from an area of Beachy Head known as Falling Sands at lunchtime on Friday.

Dover Coastguard received a call from Sussex Police just after 1pm and the cliff team was on the scene twenty minutes later.

Falling Sands is situated east of the Beachy Head Public House where the cliff edge slopes away at an acute angle making any rescue attempt extremely difficult.

It took a team of ten coastguards four hours to fully recover the body.

Stuart McNabb, Station Officer for Eastbourne Coastguard, said: "The operation was hampered by several factors including the terrain and area of cliffs where the body was found.

"It meant we were unable to use our usual rescue frame and equipment because of the high winds.

"The position of where the casualty was located also made recovery difficult."

The body was located 200ft down the cliff face and has been the longest cliff recovery this year.

No details about Mr Batcheller have been released.

The coroner's officer is continuing her enquiries.

An inquest has been opened and adjourned.