Comedian Gareth Richards has died following the injuries he sustained in a car crash in late March. He was 41.

His wife, Laura - with whom he had two sons - announced the news in a social media post.

She wrote: "It is with great sadness that I have to share that Gareth passed away on Friday 7th April (Good Friday) at 6.30pm.

"He was in a terrible car accident on Monday 27 March at 11.30pm and sustained serious brain injuries. It was a miracle that he arrived at the hospital alive.

"Since then, the doctors and nurses have been incredible and have kept him in a stable and sedated condition.

"However, the latest scan revealed that the extent of the damage was so severe that they would have to remove all of the supportive medications and allow him to be at peace. The boys are bearing up well.

"There will be details of the funeral and other ways to remember Gareth to follow, as I know that he was well loved. At the moment the grief is a lot to cope with. Thank you all for your support and kindness."

It is believed the crash happened on the M25 near Heathrow Airport. News of the crash first broke when Frank Skinner, with whom Richards co-presented an Absolute Radio show, speaking through tears told listeners his friend was in a coma and the injuries were looking very severe.

Richards started performing comedy live in 2004. In 2010 he took his first solo stand up show, Stand Up Between Songs, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was nominated in the Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer category. This August he was planning to take his tenth solo show the festival.

Richards was very popular on the live circuit and many comedians have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to his talents, with many noting he was a great comic to be around.

Emily Dean, who worked with Richards on Absolute Radio, tweeted: ''God I will miss you Gareth Richards - my hilarious, unfailingly kind, gentle, beautiful friend. So grateful to have known you."

Meanwhile the official account of The Frank Skinner Show posted a message saying: "We are heartbroken about the loss of our dear friend, Gareth. We will miss him greatly. Tomorrow we will be releasing a podcast of some of his best bits on our show."