Former Motorhead guitarist Michael 'Wurzel' Burston had died at the age of 61.

Tim Butcher, longtime bass technician for frontman Lemmy, revealed the news on his Facebook.com page on Saturday.

In a post, he wrote, "RIP Wurzle, Great guitarist and a complete gent... we will miss you...".

The rocker joined Motorhead in 1984 and played with the band for 11 years, appearing on six studio albums. His 'Wurzel' nickname stemmed from his resemblance to the fictional character Worzel Gummidge.

After he left Motorhead, Burston played for several other punk and metal bands, including WVKEAF and Disgust. He reunited with his former bandmates in 2009, joining them for a gig at London's Hammersmith Apollo, where they performed their classic song Ace of Spades together.

He formed his own band, Leader of Down, but plans to release an album last year never materialized.

Burston reportedly died of ventricular fibrillation, caused by cardiomyopathy, better known as heart disease.