[attach id=467220 size="medium"]Colin Welland was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.[/attach]

Oscar-winning writer and actor Colin Welland has died aged 81, his family has announced.

Welland, a Lancashire-born father-of-four who acted in everything from Kes to Z Cars, won his Academy Award for the screenplay of Chariots of Fire in 1981, famously waving his statue and announcing in his acceptance speech: “The British are coming!”

His family said in a statement that he had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for several years but died peacefully in his sleep.

In a statement released via his literary agent Anthony Jones, his family said: “Colin will be desperately missed by his family and friends.

“Alzheimer's is a cruel illness and there have been difficult times but in the end Colin died peacefully in his sleep.”

Welland, is survived by his wife Patricia, four children and six grandchildren.

Chariots of Fire told the story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice.

On winning the award for Best Original Screenplay for the film at the Academy Awards in 1982, Welland warned the American audience: “The British are coming!” - a quotation attributed to US revolutionary war hero Paul Revere.

As well as screenwriting, Welland had an acting career, appearing as PC David Graham in BBC series Z-Cars and as a villain in The Sweeney. He also starred the films Kes in 1969 and Sweeney! in 1977. Born Colin Williams in Lancashire, he considered Liverpool his home town. On his father’s advice, Welland first became an art teacher, but his impending marriage motivated him to try his hand at acting.

He said: “I was 26, I was going to get married, and I thought ‘If I get married I will lose my opportunity, because responsibilities naturally follow marriage’.”

After an audition at Manchester’s Library Theatre, he made his stage debut as the lead in Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. He went on to write a number of plays, including Say Goodnight To Grandma and Roll On Four O'’Clock.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts tweeted: “We’re deeply saddened to learn that the BAFTA-winning writer and actor Colin Welland has passed away.”