Rock 'n' roll legend Bo Diddley is seriously ill in hospital after a heart attack.

The 78-year-old complained of feeling nauseous while undergoing a medical check-up at a hospital in Florida.

He later suffered a cardiac arrest after being taken to the emergency room, his publicist Susan Clary confirmed.

Diddley suffered a stroke in May, which left him with impaired speech, and has also lost toes to diabetes.

He is now recovering from surgery in the hospital's intensive care unit, where his condition is described as "very serious" but stable.