INTERNATIONAL: US rock icon Tom Petty has died

A statement on the US rock star's Twitter page from his manager Tony Dimitrades confirmed his death in the early hours of this morning.

It read: 'On behalf of the Tom Petty family, we are devastated to announce the untimely death of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend, Tom Petty.

'He suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Centre but could not be revived.'

Petty was known for his hits, Free Fallin', Refugee and American Girl, selling 80 million records in his lifetime.

News of his death had been widely circulated in the late hours of last night prior to the statement and confusion arose when American network CBS published an obituary before any statement was released.