The body was taken to Derriford Hospital to be examined

It was found on Challaborough Beach, near Bigbury, south Devon, on Wednesday morning.

The police hope to identify the man on Thursday.

But they have not ruled out the possibility that it is one of the trawler men who went missing three weeks ago when their vessel sank off The Lizard in Cornwall.

The police received a call from a girl just before midday.

She had found the body lying in a stream leading down to the beach while she was out walking her dog.

A police diving team was called in to recover the body, which is thought to have been washed in on the Tuesday night tide.

The body is thought to have been washed up on Tuesday night's tide

They had to work quickly because the tide was coming in.

The body was checked by CID and police scenes of crime officers, and at the moment it does not appear the death was suspicious.

The body was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth to be examined.

The French trawler, Bugaled Breizh, sank 19 miles off the Cornish coast on 15 January.

Two bodies were recovered, but three trawler men are still missing.

Unattended vehicles

Inspector Dai Antill, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "There are various lines of inquiry, but one possibility is that the body is from the trawler which went down a few days ago.

"If they were in their bunks, they would have been potentially naked.

"If it is someone who decided to commit suicide, they may or may not be clothed.

"There are no signs of any clothes on the beach and we will be searching coastal car parks to make sure there are no unattended vehicles.