Jim Rodford, Zombies bassist and former musician for The Kinks, has died aged 76.

Mr Rodford died on Saturday after a fall on the stairs, his cousin and Zombie's frontman Rod Argent confirmed.

The musician, whose career spanned six decades and included 18 years with The Kinks, had just completed a short tour in Florida with The Zombies.

Mr Argent paid tribute to his "dear cousin and lifelong friend", writing on the band's Facebook page: "It is with deep sadness that I learned this morning that my dear cousin and lifelong friend, Jim Rodford, died this morning after a fall on the stairs.

"Jim was not only a magnificent bass player, but also from the first inextricably bound to the story of The Zombies."

Argent said Rodford was dedicated to music "to the end" and added he "was unfailingly committed to local music".

"Often, Colin (Blunstone) and I would compare notes a couple of days immediately after a US tour and discuss how long it would take us to recover from an intense, fantastic but exhausting couple of months - only to find out and marvel that Jim had already been out playing with local bands," he wrote.

The Kinks' Dave Davies paid tribute on Twitter, writing: "I'm devastated Jim's sudden loss I'm too broken up to put words together it's such a shock"I always thought Jim would live forever in true rock and roll fashion - strange - great friend great musician great man - he was an integral part of The Kinks later years RIP."

Mr Rodford is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jean and three generations of Rodfords.

The Kinks' official Twitter page said he would be "greatly missed".