Star Trek actor dies in road collision

The US actor was killed in a traffic collision early yesterday, his publicist confirmed.

Yelchin started his acting career with parts in indie films and television shows such as Judging Amy and The Practice before getting his big break in 2006 crime thriller Alpha Dog.

His biggest role to date has been as Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek films.

The third film - Star Trek Beyond - is due to be released in the UK next month.

Several celebrities have paid tribute to the actor on Twitter.

Actress Anna Kendrick wrote: “This is unreal. Anton Yelchin is such a talent. Such a huge loss.”

Little Britain star Matt Lucas said Yelchin was “an amazing actor”.

Yelchin, an only child, was born in Russia.

His parents were professional figure skaters who moved the family to the US when Yelchin was a baby.