A teenage girl, a woman and a man have died and a young girl remains critically ill in hospital after a family got into difficulty in the water off Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. Emergency services were called to the incident, which has left a family devastated and prompted a police and coastguard response, though the exact circumstances that led the group into trouble remain unclear.

Four members of the same family were caught up in the incident, with three confirmed dead and a young girl in a critical condition as she fights for her life in hospital. Authorities are continuing to investigate how the tragedy unfolded, and further details, including formal identification of those who died, are expected in due course.