The Pogues bass player Darryl Hunt has died at the age of 72.

In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, the band said, "We are saddened beyond words. Our Darryl passed away yesterday afternoon in London.

"Darryl Gatwick Hunt 04/05/1950 - 08/08/2022

"'I know you want to hear me catch my breath. I love you till the end'."

The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan described Darryl Hunt as a "great friend and a great bass player" in his own tribute to his late bandmate.

"I am very very sorry that Darryl has passed on, he was a really nice guy and a great friend and a great bass player," MacGowan wrote on Twitter.

"We will all miss him.

"May he have a happy state of eternal bliss and bless his family and friends love Shane."

Musician, singer and songwriter Darryl Hunt was born in Hampshire, England in 1950 and began playing bass in The Pogues in 1986.

He first worked for the London-Irish band as a roadie and first appeared on the band's 1988 album If I Should Fall from Grace with God, which featured their massive hit Fairytale of New York.

He studied fine art at Nottingham Trent University and formed his first band, The Brothel Creepers, in 1973 and later formed the punk band The Favourites.

His song Love You Till The End features on The Pogues album Pogue Mahone and was used in the credits of the Jay Roach film Mystery, Alaska and used throughout the Richard LaGravenese film P.S. I Love You.

Spider Stacy of The Pogues was also among those who paid tribute to Darryl Hunt.