The cast of The Lords of the Rings have paid tribute to their co-star Bernard Hill, who has died aged 79.

The actor - who played King Théoden in Peter Jackson's trilogy - passed away early on Sunday morning.

Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan and Sean Astin, who played the four hobbits in the films, said goodbye to their "funny, gruff, beautiful" friend.

They told Comic Con fans in Liverpool they had lost a "family member".

Hill had been due to appear at the Merseyside event but had pulled out.

His co-stars from the films, based on JRR Tolkien's classic fantasy novels, stood up together on stage to share their thoughts on his passing.

Astin, who played Frodo's faithful companion Samwise Gamgee in the trilogy, began by saying: "So we lost a member of our family this morning, Bernard Hill passed, King Théoden.

"So we want to take a moment before we walk off the stage to honour him.

"We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful."

Boyd, who played Pippin, recounted watching the trilogy with Monaghan, saying: "I don't think anyone spoke Tolkien's words as great as Bernard did. The way he grounded those words in a realism.

"He would break my heart. He will be sorely missed."

Hill's fiancee Alison and son Gabriel were with him when he died.