WESTLIFE - NICKY BYRNE MOURNS DAD

NICKY BYRNE MOURNS DAD

Westlife star Nicky Byrne has been left devastated by the death of his father, Nicky Sr, who passed away yesterday (03.11.09).

Nicky Byrne has been left devastated by the death of his father.

The Westlife singer's dad, Nicky Sr, died suddenly yesterday (03.11.09) and Nicky - who was in London at the time - has now flown back to his native Ireland to be with his family.

The cause of death is not yet known but Nicky's bandmates - Kian Egan, Shane Filan and Mark Feehily - have all offered their support.

A Westlife spokesman said: "The boys in the band's main priority is looking after Nicky at this tragic time."

Last December, Nicky - who has two-year-old twin sons, Rocco and Jay, with wife Georgina - threw a lavish bash at a top Dublin hotel for his father's 60th birthday and presented Nicky Sr with a £16,000 Harley Davidson motorbike as a present.

The news comes just weeks after Nicky's friend, Boyzone star Stephen Gately, died aged 33 from an acute pulmonary oedema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, at his holiday home in Majorca.