POLICE were today trying to discover what killed a 62-year-old man who was found floating in the canal.

The body of Alban Bradley, of Queen Street, Darwen, was seen near the Moorings public house on Bolton Road, Blackburn, at 12.15pm yesterday by a passenger on a barge on the Leeds and Liverpool canal. Police said an angler who had been fishing nearby had thought the body was a binbag.

The body was identified by police last night and they said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

Police immediately cordoned off the busy canal towpath and blocked the entrance to the Moorings' pub terrace -- a popular spot for lunchtime diners where onlookers had gathered.

They called in the Underwater Search Unit from Runcorn in Cheshire, which recovered Mr Bradley's body at 3.15pm.

The body was taken to the mortuary at nearby Blackburn Infirmary where it was identified last night.

A police spokesman today confirmed they had ruled out foul play, but said they did not know at this stage if the death was accidental.

The coroner has been informed and a post mortem examination will be carried out.