A serving British soldier set to take part in the D-Day 75th anniversary commemorations in Normandy has died, the army has confirmed.

Lance Corporal Darren Jones, 30, of the Royal Engineers, drowned in a canal at Bénouville near the historic Pegasus bridge, the first site to be liberated by the allies on June 6, 1944.

"It is with sadness that we must confirm the death of a service person in France. Our thoughts are with their family at this difficult time," a British army spokesperson said.

Fire-fighters pulled LCpl Jones' body of the water early on Sunday morning and he was declared dead at the scene, according to French media reports.

French police are investigating the incident and are said not to be looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

A post-mortem is yet to be carried out.

Jones reportedly went missing on Saturday night after an evening out near the canal de Caen with other soldiers, who alerted the emergency services when they lost sight of him.