Comedian Sean Hughes has died at the age of 51, his management has confirmed.

The London-born Irish writer and stand-up died after being rushed to the Whittington Hospital on Sunday night.

It is believed he was admitted with liver cirrhosis and died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

The Never Mind the Buzzcocks star had said in his latest tweet, dated October 8, that he was in hospital.

Tributes have poured in for Hughes who was one of the youngest comedians ever to win the prestigious Perrier Award.

Fellow comedian Jason Manford paid tribute to him on social media, writing: "Very sad to hear about Sean Hughes. A brilliant comic and a lovely bloke. RIP."

Jack Dee tweeted: "Very sad to hear about Sean Hughes. Started on the circuit with him back in the day. RIP."

David Schneider and Al Murray were among others to post about the star, who was well-known for being a team leader in the panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

And comedian Ross Noble posted: "Just awful news about Sean Hughes.he was very nice to me when I was starting out in comedy.a sad loss."

Hughes won the Perrier Award in 1990 for his popular show A One Night Stand With Sean Hughes.

During his career, he also wrote books, starred in Coronation Street in 2007 and presented several radio shows on the BBC.

Following news of his death, his former-promoter Richard Bucknall told Beyond the Joke that Hughes has been a "pioneering, groundbreaking comedian who changed comedy with that live show".

Nica Burns, the director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said: "Sean Hughes was the youngest comic at 24, to win Britain's top comedy award in 1990.

"He was a huge talent, a really good comic, instinctive timing from day one and a very good writer. He will be missed."