Westlife's Nicky Byrne Devastated After His Father's Sudden Death

November 4, 2009 6:10 a.m. EST

Topics: Celebrity Buzz  
London, England (BANG) - Nicky Byrne has been left devastated by the death of his father. The Westlife singer's dad, Nicky Sr, died suddenly Tuesday and Nicky - who was in London at the time - has now flown back to his native Ireland to be with his family.

The cause of death is not yet known but Nicky's bandmates - Kian Egan, Shane Filan and Mark Feehily - have all offered their support.

A Westlife spokesman said: "The boys in the band's main priority is looking after Nicky at this tragic time."

Last December, Nicky - who has two-year-old twin sons, Rocco and Jay, with wife Georgina - threw a lavish bash at a top Dublin hotel for his father's 60th birthday and presented Nicky Sr with a £16,000 [$26,000] Harley Davidson motorbike as a present.

The news comes just weeks after Nicky's friend, Boyzone star Stephen Gately, died aged 33 from an acute pulmonary oedema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, at his holiday home in Majorca.