Search for father after boy found

Police said they are trying to trace Alan Watkins, from London

A boy has died after being found floating in the English Channel.

Two men in a yacht found the child, aged about two and wearing a floating device, off the coast of Littlehampton, West Sussex, at 1850 BST on Sunday.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the boy, who has not been identified, later died at Worthing Hospital.

Police said a car belonging to the father, named as Alan Watkins, from London, had been traced in the search which resumed at 0600 BST on Monday.

It is thought Mr Watkins had been with the child in the dinghy.

Shortly before the discovery of the boy's body, another yacht reported an empty dinghy tender, which had personal items in it, about 400 yards from where the child was discovered.

Empty dinghy

Sussex Police said an extensive search was made by Solent Coastguard along the coast between Rustington and Bognor while two Littlehampton RNLI lifeboats searched further.

Det Ch Insp Adam Hibbert said: "We are in the early stages of an investigation into a tragic and unexplained death of a young boy.

"We are following up on a number of inquiries.

"The child has not yet been formally identified and his death will be treated as suspicious until the full circumstances become clear.

"We are connecting the young boy with the finding of the empty dinghy and our inquiries continue."

Sussex Police said they believed they had identified the boy and located his mother but formal identification had yet to take place.