Tragedy on the railway

Sgt Rebecca Howson of the British Transport Police (BTP) said that the woman was on the tracks at the station at around 1.50pm when she was struck by a South West train heading from Basingstoke to Brighton that was not scheduled to stop at the station.

Sgt Howson described the incident as "tragic" and said the death was not being treated as suspicious.

The woman, in her 50s, is believed to have been from the Littlehampton area, but her personal details had not been confirmed by the BTP at the time of going to press.

Her next of kin have been notified by police, but they have not released a statement.

The station was closed until about 3pm while officers gathered evidence. Train services along the line were severely disrupted and did not resume until about 3.30pm.

Anyone with information is asked to call British Transport Police on 0800 405040.