Cyrille Regis: Ex-West Brom and England forward dies aged 59

Cyrille Regis, the former West Brom and England forward, has died aged 59.

He scored 112 goals in 297 appearances for the Baggies before joining Coventry City for £250,000 in 1984.

He was a pioneer for black footballers in the game when he played alongside Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson at The Hawthorns.

Regis, who was appointed an MBE in 2008, returned to West Brom as a coach before becoming a football agent.

The trio of Regis, Cunningham and Batson, nicknamed the Three Degrees by their then-manager Ron Atkinson, were subject to racist abuse from fans during the late 1970s.

They were honoured with a 10ft statue, called The Celebration, which was unveiled in West Bromwich in 2014.

At the time, Regis said: "We were part of that first generation of black players in this country and I'm sure that if you ask any second generation player they will tell you they were inspired by Laurie. That's why the statue will be so important."

Cunningham, Batson and Regis met their namesakes, pop group The Three Degrees, in 1979

Cunningham died in a car crash in Spain in 1989.

Regis scored 62 goals in 274 appearances for Coventry and was a crucial part of their FA Cup-winning side in 1987. He retired from football in October 1996.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street paid tribute to Regis

(BBC)