Morrissey home after gig collapse

Morrissey suffered breathing difficulties

Former Smiths singer Morrissey has been discharged from a Swindon hospital after collapsing on stage with breathing difficulties on Saturday.

He fell to the floor while performing his former band's song This Charming Man at the town's Oasis Leisure Centre.

A Great Western Hospital spokeswoman said he had been kept in overnight as a "precautionary measure" but was "much improved" and had been discharged.

The 50-year-old has cancelled several dates this year because of illness.

Two members of the singer's band took him off stage and an ambulance took him to the hospital.

Jillian Moody, who was at the concert, said initially the crowd was not aware of how serious the singer's condition was.

"It was interesting because a lot of people around us had bought tickets for Morrissey concerts earlier in the year," she said.

"He has cancelled numerous concerts so they just thought that, you know, he had gone off but would be returning.

"I didn't think he looked particularly well but then again, he's sort of well known as a reclusive character so I sort of thought that was just the way he was when he was on stage.

"He kept putting his hand up to his mouth as if he felt sick or... perhaps he was trying to hide something, but he didn't look particularly comfortable."

Morrissey's tour is due to move onto its European leg next month, including gigs in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Germany and Ireland before moving on to nine dates in the US.