Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Blazing sun 'killed man on nudist beach'

Liz Hunt
Thursday 29 June 1995 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The body of a sunbather thought to have died of excessive sun exposure on a nudist beach in East Sussex will today undergo a post- mortem examination to confirm the cause of death.

The man, who was in his forties and wearing shorts and trainers, has not yet been identified. He was discovered in "severe distress" by passers- by on a remote beach at Fairlight Glen, near Hastings, on Wednesday.

Rescuers believe that he fell asleep in the sun as temperatures hit the high eighties on one of the hottest June days on record.

A spokesman for the Conquest hospital in Hastings, where the body was taken, refused to comment on the man's death or the condition of his body until the results of the post-mortem examination are known.

Paramedics trekked for 30 minutes through the Hastings country park and along the beach to reach the isolated spot after the alarm was raised at 7.30pm on Wednesday evening. The man was found to be in need of urgent medical attention and was evacuated further along the shoreline by the Hastings in-shore lifeboat to a spot where he could be transferred to an ambulance and taken to hospital. He was declared dead on arrival.

Prolonged exposure to strong sun can be dangerous and lead to sunstroke when the body's heat-regulating mechanism breaks down, leading to severe dehydration in some cases, and possible heart and lung failure.

Dr Meg Price, a member of the British Medical Association's Dermatology Committee and a consultant dermatologist at Brighton Healthcare Trust, said: "Acute sunburn is more than burning the skin. I would not say that just sunburn by itself will kill a person, but the victim may dehydrate, meaning that the blood pressure will drop. This can put a tremendous strain on the heart."

t A council has called its winter gritter lorries into service to spread sand across roads as scorching summer sun melts the tarmac. Highland Regional Council is spending pounds 6,000 spreading the sand in an attempt to limit damage to roads and vehicles.

Weather forecast:

Section Two, page 37

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in