Former Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford, has died aged 46, his family have announced.

The Canadian politician had been fighting cancer for some time and had recently been readmitted to hospital.

A statement from his family said:

A Toronto city councillor, Mr Ford had been undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer that had reoccurred despite surgery and several rounds of chemotherapy.

He rode into office on a backlash against urban elites, casting an image sharply at odds with Canada's reputation for sedate, unpretentious politics.

But his tenure as mayor of the country's largest city was marred by revelations about his drinking problems and illegal drug use.

He was repeatedly videotaped and photographed while intoxicated in public. Allegations of crack cocaine abuse gave Mr Ford a brief brush with international celebrity.

His statements and actions became nightly fodder for TV comedians and an embarrassment to many of the suburbanites he championed.

Nevertheless, such was was his common touch and everyman appeal, he was later elected by a landslide to a city council seat.

In recent years, Mr Ford had given frank interviews about his battle with drink and drugs, and had all but retreated from public life during his illness.