Musician and icon of American rock Tom Petty has passed away at the age of 66.

Petty was reportedly discovered unconscious at his Malibu home last night and was rushed to hospital in critical condition after suffering a 'full cardiac arrest'. He had finished his latest tour just last week.

TMZ are now saying that he was put on life support, but the decision was later made to take him off life support after it was discovered that there was no sign of brain activity.

We must stress that no confirmation of his passing has come from an official source as yet.

UPDATE: It seems that Petty's death has now been confirmed by the LAPD to various news sources including CBS.

UPDATE - 23:00 GMT: Despite various news sources around the world reporting Petty's death, the LAPD has apologised on Twitter for 'inadvertently' confirming his passing and it appears that he remains in critical condition in hospital. TMZ now report that he is still 'clinging to life', according to a source.