Police investigating the death of a man on a Colchester building site say they are satisfied there are no criminal circumstances surrounding the incident.

The man was declared dead on the JR Pickstock site, off Haven Road in the Hythe area of the town, shortly after 7.30am yesterday morning.

Officers from Essex Police were at the site all of yesterday but this afternoon said they have now handed the investigation over to the Health and Safety Executive, which will be leading inquiries from now on.

“We will be assisting them in any way we can,” said a police spokesman.

A spokesman for JR Pickstock, which is overseeing the £35m development to build accommodation for 700 students on the site, yesterday confirmed the dead man was an employee of the principle contractor for the project, Urban Summit Ltd.