Andrew Lloyd Webber's son Nicholas dies aged 43

Andrew Lloyd Webber pictured with his son Nicholas in 2010

The Grammy-nominated eldest son of Andrew Lloyd Webber has died aged 43, the composer has announced.

Nicholas Lloyd Webber, a composer and record producer, had been having treatment for gastric cancer and died at Basingstoke Hospital, Hampshire.

"His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft," Lord Webber, 75, wrote on Twitter.

Lord Lloyd Webber, whose hit musicals include Cats, said on Thursday that Nick had been moved to a hospice.

In a post on Twitter on Saturday evening he wrote: "I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago".

His son was nominated for a Grammy for musical theatre alongside his father as well as David Wells and David Zippel for Lord Lloyd Webber's Cinderella.

He also scored the music for an adaptation of The Little Prince.

The news followed a video posted by Lord Lloyd Webber on Instagram on Thursday, where he said his son was recovering from "this first bout of pneumonia" caught as a result of his "ghastly" cancer.

In the video the composer, who also wrote the music for The Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar, thanked the people of Ukraine who sent him a Cats t-shirt following the announcement that his son was critically ill.

He said: "It's incredibly moving... everything they're going through they have been so incredibly thoughtful about dearest Nick.

"I'm going to go and see Nick in a minute, and I'm going to pass on all of the fantastic wishes that I've had for him all the way from everywhere all around the world."