Actor Richard Briers, known to millions for his role in 1970s TV sitcom The Good Life, has died.

Briers, born in Raynes Park in 1934, died at the age of 79 following a long fought battle against the lung condition emphysema.

He is believed to have passed away peacefully on Sunday at his home in Chiswick.

During his career Briers appeared in many TV shows including 1960s drama Marriage Lines, Ever Decreasing Circles, Tales of the Unexpected, Monarch of the Glen and the voice of Fiver in Watership Down.

But he was best known for his role as Surbiton resident Tom Good starring alongside Felicity Kendal in the 1970s BBC1 sitcom The Good Life. Although The Good Life was set in Surbiton, it was filmed in Northwood, Middlesex.

Briers attended Rokeby School in Kingston but left age 16 with no qualifications. His prolific career spanned half a century, earning him a CBE in 2003.

Briers was also known for performing in many Shakespearian plays including Twelfth Night, King Lear, Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing and was the original narrator for the Enid Blyton series Noddy.