POLICE were last night trying to establish the identity of a man whose body was washed up on a North-East beach.

The grim discovery was made at about 9.30am on Saturday by a member of the public who was walking along the beach at Seaham, County Durham.

The walker came across the badly-decomposed remains of the man on a stretch of beach opposite East Shore Nursing Home.

An initial examination carried out by a doctor suggested the body had been in the water for a considerable time before it was washed ashore.

At this stage, police have few clues as to who the man is and have not been able to establish his age because of the condition of the body.

There was also little clothing left on the corpse to help with the identification process, other than a pair of dark grey slipper socks, with a dark red grip.

The man was also wearing one shoe with a brown or oxblood-coloured top and a cream rubber sole.

Investigations have, however, revealed that the make of shoe is Camper - a brand which is made in Spain.

The body was removed from the beach and taken to the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City.

In an attempt to help find out who the man is, officers from Seaham CID have been in touch with neighbouring police forces to ask them to make checks on their registers of missing persons.

Detective Sergeant Cliff Down said last night: "At the moment, we have no reason to suspect foul play, but our inquiries are at a very early stage.

"Apart from checking our own records, we are hoping the inquiries being made on our behalf by Northumbria and Cleveland Police will move us on in the next few days."

Det Sgt Down appealed for anyone who might have information that could help to identify the man to contact Seaham CID on 0845 60 60 365.