Nude sunbather mistaken for dead body near railway line in Essex

Image source, Alamy

Image caption, Concerned rail workers spotted a pair of feet but "no signs of life" within the railway boundary

A naked man who was sunbathing near a railway line was mistaken for a dead body by police.

Concerned rail workers spotted a pair of feet but "no signs of life" on the grounds of Chafford Hundred railway station, British Transport Police said.

In a tweet, BTP said: "Rushing to the scene, officers found a man in his late 30s enjoying some nude sunbathing."

It happened as temperatures reached 25C (77F) on Monday. BTP added: "Please don't sunbathe nude on the railway."

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Chafford Hundred station sits on a single-line railway between London and Southend.

The man was spotted by track workers from Network Rail, who called police.

A spokeswoman for Network Rail said: "Let me lay it bare, the railway is not a place to sunbathe. Please keep away from the tracks."

A spokeswoman for rail operator C2C, which runs a number of services in Essex, declined to comment but said there had been similar episodes of nude sunbathers in the past.

"It is not as uncommon as you might think," she said.

A BTP spokesman said the report was made at about 13:00 BST on Monday in the London Road of West Thurrock and "words of advice were given about the dangers of the railway".