Architects guitarist Tom Searle dies after three-year battle with cancer, aged 28

The guitarist for British metalcore band Architects has died at the age of 28 after a three-year battle with cancer.

Tom Searle had undergone a number of surgeries to try to beat the disease, forcing him to miss a number of shows over the past 15 months - however, he made it to Germany to play Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park festivals in June.

These turned out to be his final performances. He was placed in a medically-induced coma on June 8 after being rushed to hospital in Luxembourg, forcing the Brighton-based band to cancel European festival tour and a headline tour of the US.

He woke after five days and returned to the UK, but took a turn for the worse again two weeks ago.

Posting a message to the band's Facebook page, Tom's twin brother and Architects drummer Dan said Tom passed away shortly after midnight on Saturday morning.

He wrote:

He said Architects had evolved from when he and Tom began playing together at the age of 13, and said he doesn't know what will happen to the band now.

"To pretend that Tom wasn't at the heart of everything that the band created would be to show a complete lack of respect to the amazing talent that he was. The band will never be the same and there is simply no denying it," he added.

He said the band still planned to go ahead with a tour of the UK and Europe starting in October, and would travel to Australia in a few weeks.

"We hope that these shows will be an opportunity for everyone out there to show their respects to my wonderful brother. It won't be easy for us to get on stage and play every night without him, but it's something that we must do.

"We want to carry on, that is important to say, and we will strive to do so, but we will not release any music unless we truly believe that it is something that Tom would have been proud of. Whether or not we can achieve that is something that we will have to discover in time."

He asked any fans who want to do something in Tom's memory to donate to the Martlets Hospice in Hove, which cared for him in his final days.