Screenwriter and actor Colin Welland dies

Oscar-winning writer and actor Colin Welland has died aged 81.

Colin, a Lancashire-born father of four who acted in everything from Kes to Z-Cars, won his Academy Award for the screenplay of Chariots of Fire in 1981, famously waving his statue and announcing in his acceptance speech: “The British are coming!”

His family said that he had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for several years, but died peacefully in his sleep.