Punk singer Ari Up dies aged 48

Ari Up, right, formed the band when she was 14

Vocalist Ari Up, of British all-girl punk band The Slits, has died aged 48 following a "serious illness", her stepfather John Lydon has announced.

The death of the singer, real name Arianna Forster, was revealed in a statement on Lydon's website which said she would be "sadly missed".

Punk-reggae act The Slits were known for tracks including their cover of I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

Debut album Cut, out in September 1979, went to number 30 in the UK.

Munich-born Up was 14 when she formed the band with members including Palmolive - real name Paloma Romero - in 1976.

In a tribute on The Slits' My Space page, her manager Jeff Jacquin paid tribute to her "unyielding passion for music and life".

"She influenced generations of women and created some of the most memorable music of our time, but Ari's true magic was how she affected people on the street, face to face, every day," he said.

"She ate life up and spit it out."

The singer's mother, German publishing heiress Nora Forster, is married to former Sex Pistols star Lydon, who she has been with for 30 years.