Police said the incident was not being treated as suspicious and the officers were preparing a file for the coroner.

No further details about the man or the circumstances surrounding his death were being released by the Norfolk Constabularly last night.

In an earlier statement, the force said the body was discovered at around 7am yesterday, in a field between Lynn Road and the railway line.

The area is criss-crossed with hedgerows, streams and drainage ditches which run between deep banks.

Last night, it emerged the body had been found in a stream off Wimbotsham Road, close to Heron Close.

One woman who lives on Wimbotsham Road said she had seen police cars driving down a track leading onto the fields.

The path, which is popular with dog walkers, leads to a bridge at the junction of two shallow streams, which are at the bottom of a sheer 6ft drop.

Norfolk fire service said a crew from Downham Market was called at 9.38am to assist police officers.

A spokesman later confirmed that firefighters had used ropes to help recover a man's body from a stream.