Actor Pete Postlethwaite dies, aged 64

The Oscar-nominated Shropshire actor Pete Postlethwaite has died following a lengthy illness. He was 64 and died in hospital yesterday.

Mr Postlethwaite had fought a long battle against cancer and is survived by his wife Jacqui, his son Will, 21, and daughter Lily, 14. He was famously described by the film director Steven Spielberg as "the best actor in the world"

He won an Oscar nomination for his 1993 role as Guiseppe Conlon in the film In The Name Of The Father.

Mr Postlethwaite was proud of his Shropshire connections and had lived in the county for two decades, having settled in Minton, near Church Stretton, before moving to the outskirts of Bishop's Castle.

He became unwell during his 2008 and 2009 performances as King Lear, initially at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre and then in London, at the Young Vic Theatre.

In recent months, Mr Postlethwaite paid tribute to medical staff at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and local surgeries.

"They have been wonderful and I am grateful to them," he had said.

"I cannot thank them enough for everything that they have done for me."

Mr Postlethwaite supported the Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Ludlow Arts Festival and the Caitlin Kickstart Award, raising cash for south Shropshire students keen to pursue a career in the performing arts.

Mr Postlethwaite was also a big supporter of libertarian causes and marched against the War in Iraq, spoke publically at the 2004 Make Poverty History demonstration, in Edinburgh, and campaigned for other social and environmental issues.

He won permission from the former South Shropshire District Council to convert his home into an environmentally-sustainable dwelling, with a wind turbine.

At the UK premiere of The Age of Stupid, Mr Postlethwaite tackled then-Energy and Climate Change minister Ed Miliband, threatening to send back his OBE if more was not done for the environment.