Heath Ledger dies of "massive drugs overdose"

Actor Heath Ledger has died of a massive drugs overdose in his New York apartment, aged just 28.

Bottles of prescription pills were scattered over his bedclothes when a housekeeper discovered the Australian's lifeless body.

The Brokeback Mountain star, who has a two year old daughter with former fianc?e, actress Michelle Williams, is believed to have recently spent time in rehab.

He moved to the swanky flat in Soho, downtown Manhattan, following the split from Williams, which was known to have left him depressed.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Ledger was found after a masseuse arrived for an appointment and was let in to the home by a housekeeper.

When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom door and found Ledger unconscious.

They shook him and immediately called for an ambulance when he failed to respond.

"We don't have the cause of death) yet. The matter is still under investigation," a New York Police Department spokesman said.

A large crowd gathered outside his five-storey apartment block as news of his death quickly spread.

Ledger won worldwide acclaim for his role as a co-star in the hugely successful 2005 movie Brokeback Mountain, for which he was Oscar nominated.

It was while film Ang Lee's controversial movie about gay cowboys that he met Williams and they quickly fell into a very public romance.

They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on Oct. 28, 2005. They moved to Brooklyn, but then separated last year.

Ledger's roles include the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball and had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot.

He most recently appeared in I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan - as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

He was to appear as the Joker this year in The Dark Night, a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins that recently finished filming.

Ledger's love life earned him as many headlines as his acting career.

He has been romantically linked to as Naomi Watts and Heather Graham.