FORMER Coronation Street star Geoffrey Hughes has died aged 68, after a long battle with prostate cancer.

The actor appeared in the ITV soap as bin man Eddie Yeats in the seventies and eighties and became one the show's best-loved characters, forming a comedy double act alongside Bill Tarmey's Jack Duckworth.

Hughes, who lived on the Isle of Wight, was also known for his roles in The Royle Family and Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances.

He first appeared on television in the sixties in shows such as Z-Cars and The Likely Lads and he provided the voice of Paul McCartney in the Beatles film Yellow Submarine. He also performed a vast range of theatre roles.