Police have launched an investigation following the discovery of a woman's body on a Fife beach.

The woman, who is thought to be in her late 40s or early 50s, was discovered at 11.45am on Monday morning in West Wemyss, near Kirkcaldy.

Fife Constabulary has now launched a full scale enquiry to discover the circumstances "leading up to her sudden and unexplained death".

The identity of the woman is not known at this stage. She was five foot six inches tall with short dark hair.

The deceased was wearing three-quarter length grey trousers with a grey belt and brass buckle, as well as a grey round necked woolly jumper.

The woman was wearing a brown ring on her right thumb, two silver rings on her right ring finger and a silver Macintosh style ring on the right middle finger. She was also wearing a small silver earring in her right ear.

Detective Sergeant Graham Fenton said: "We are clearly keen to ascertain the identity of this woman to allow us to establish the circumstances as to how she met her death. I would ask anybody who recognises the description and believes they know this woman to call us on our appeals line on 01592 251111 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where their call can be treated anonymously."