OSCAR winning film director Anthony Minghella has died, it was revealed today.

Mr Minghella won an Academy Award for directing the film The English Patient in 1996.

It is thought he died from a brain haemorrhage at 5am today at Charing Cross Hospital in London following complications after a routine neck operation.

Born on the Isle of Wight, Mr Minghella, 54, was the son of Gloria and Edward Minghella who run an ice cream factory on the island.

He attended Sandown Grammar School and St John's College, in Portsmouth, before graduating from Hull University.

Mr Minghella was married to Hong Kong-born choreographer Carolyn Choa and was the first person to be given the freedom of the Isle of Wight.

His brother, Dominic, is also a successful scriptwriter, and his son Max an actor.

His sister Edna is currently involved in a jazz event on the Isle of Wight, and his nephew Dante is one of the participants in Channel 4's Child Genius series.

Mr Minghella's distraught sister, Gioia Minghella, today said: "We are a family in grief."

Speaking at the home of Mr Minghella's parents in Ryde, Isle of Wight, she wept as she added: "We are all devastated."

Ms Minghella is managing director of the family's ice cream business on the Isle of Wight.

His death came just days after that of his mentor, English and drama teacher Gareth Pritchard, whom he thanked in an Oscar acceptance speech for inspiring him.

Mr Pritchard, who died March 7 aged 75, taught at Fairway Grammar, in Sandown, Isle of Wight, during the 1950s where he produced Mr Minghella in several plays.

Three years after winning the Oscar Mr Minghella, a Portsmouth fan, was nominated for the Academy Award for Adapted Screen Play for 1999's Talented Mr Ripley and 2003's Cold Mountain.

During the 1980s, he worked in television, for the children's drama series Grange Hill for and The Storyteller series for Jim Henson.

He also worked on episodes of Inspector Morse and his 1986 play Made in Bangkok found mainstream success in the West End.

His 1990 feature Truly Madly Deeply, a drama he had written and directed for the anthology strand, bypassed its expected TV broadcast and received a cinema release.

More recently he worked in Botswana in Africa with fellow Brit Richard Curtis making The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, an adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith's hit novel.

The film is due to be screened on BBC1 over Easter.

A woman at the family home in Ryde on the Isle of Wight said they were too upset to comment when contacted this afternoon.

One of five children, Minghella grew up above the family's ice cream shop on the Isle of Wight, where the family still live and run a successful chain of shops.

A worker at one of the shops said the news of Minghella's death was ''really raw'' for all those who knew him and his family.

Isle of Wight Council leader David Pugh said: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Anthony Minghella and we would like to extend our sympathy to his family.

"He has been a tremendous ambassador for the island and a great supporter of the community here. He will be sorely missed."

Fellow film director Lord David Puttnam said the death was a ''shattering blow'' to the industry.

''I am shattered. He was a very important person in the film community because not only was he a fine, fine writer ... and made the transfer into becoming a really excellent director, he was also a really beautiful man.

''I just spoke to Alan Parker and it was the line Alan used: he was a beautiful man; he was a lot of fun to be with; he was thoughtful and intelligent.

''Most importantly of all for me, he was one of the few filmmakers who really stepped up to the responsibility - he worked his guts out at the BFI (British Film Institute) to be an effective chair and was an extremely effective chair with the result being that the BFI to an extent is rising from the ashes as never before.

''He's going to be hugely missed. This is a shattering blow from someone who was a major figure in an important industry and had a lot to go on and contribute.''

Lord Puttnam said Minghella had been ''a storyteller in the classic British tradition''. He compared him with David Lean, saying he was particularly good at inspiring great performances from actresses.

Former prime minister Tony Blair said Minghella, who directed him in a party election broadcast for Labour, was a ''wonderful human being''.

He said: "I am really shocked and very sad.

''Anthony Minghella was a wonderful human being, creative and brilliant, but still humble, gentle and a joy to be with.

''Whatever I did with him, personally or professionally, left me with complete admiration for him, as a character and as an artist of the highest calibre.''

His film for the 2005 General Election campaign showed Mr Blair and then Chancellor Gordon Brown chatting informally about the fruits of their joint efforts.

Mr Brown was interviewed on stage by Minghella last year about a book he wrote about his heroes.