Singer Chris Rea has been rushed to hospital after collapsing on stage, it has been reported.

The 66-year-old was performing in Oxford during his Live On The Road To Hell Tour. He was halfway through a song when he began shaking and suddenly fell to the ground.

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Eyewitness Darren Fewins who was at the gig, said that Rea had been on stage for 40 to 45 minutes before he fell backwards.

"He was standing by the microphone and he had the guitar in his hand and he kept shaking his left hand as if there was something not quite right with it," he told Mail Online.

"He walked forward to the microphone and he was trying to grab the microphone with his left hand, and it was swinging from side-to-side. I thought at first there was something wrong with it and he was trying to keep it steady. He then took three or four steps backwards."

He said the situation 'looked incredibly serious' and as staff sought for emergency medical assistance the shocked audience were asked to leave the venue.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing an ambulance leaving the location with its blue lights flashing.

Fans who were at the event turned to Twitter to express their shock at the incident. One fan wrote on Twitter: "Chris Rea has just collapsed on stage at the New Theatre Oxford where I'm watching him. Fell backwards in a clump on the stage. Really doesn't look good. I'm quite upset."

Another added: "Feeling devastated. While watching one of my guitar heroes, Chris Rea, play tonight, he just collapsed about an hour into his set. Ambulance took him away. Please pray that he is okay."

A spokeswoman for South Central Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 9.30pm to attend to an incident in George Street in Oxford. We had an ambulance crew on scene and one patient has now been taken to hospital."

The Driving Home For Christmas singer has several serious health issues including peritonitis, pancreatic cancer and diabetes and suffered a stroke last year.