Herbert Lom, best know for his role as bumbling Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in The Pink Panther series has died at the age of 95.

The veteran British actor, who was born in the Czech Republic but later emigrated to Britain in 1939, died earlier today with his family confirming that he had passed away peacefully in his sleep.

Lom appeared in more than 100 films during his 60-year acting career, appearing in such classics as The Ladykillers (1955), Spartacus (1960) and El Cid (1961). He also played sinister characters in a string of low-budget horror films including a number of Hammer studio productions, playing the Phantom in their production of The Phantom of the Opera.

However it was for his role as the long-suffering Chief Inspector which made him most well known as he starred in seven Pink Panther films including A Shot in the Dark (1964), Return of the Pink Panther (1975) and Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978).