Police are investigating after a man fell to his death on a construction site in London’s banking district.

A body was found by construction workers on Tuesday morning in a trench on the Canary Wharf site. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “Police in Tower Hamlets are dealing with an unexplained death. Officers were called on Tuesday 2 January at 8.46am to a construction site in Bank Street, Westferry Road.

“The body of a man had been found after apparently falling into a deep trench at the location. The London ambulance service and London fire brigade attended the scene.

“The man was pronounced dead at the scene, his body has not yet been recovered. He is not thought to have been a member of construction staff.”

The man’s body was discovered on the first day back at work after the Christmas and new year break for many people. It is unclear whether he fell on Tuesday morning or if his body had been lying there for some time. He has not yet been identified.

An London ambulance service spokeswoman said: “We were called at 8.52am to Bank Street, Tower Hamlets, to reports of a person fallen from height. We sent our hazardous area response team, an incident response officer and an ambulance crew to the scene. Sadly, the patient was dead at the scene.”