Westlife star Nicky Byrne rang The Argus to apologise to fans after the band had to cancel Brighton dates when he fell ill.

The chart-topping stars had to pull out of three concerts in the city earlier this month when Nicky became sick with suspected kidney stones.

He told The Argus the dates had now been rescheduled to June and would be the last shows of Westlife's UK tour.

Nicky, who is still recovering from the illness which saw him admitted to hospital, wanted to say sorry to everyone who had hoped to see them.

He said: "It was just one of those things you can never predict.

"At first the doctor thought it was a kidney stone so I went to hospital to get it broken down but it turned out to be an infection so I was in and out in the same day.

"I felt a bit groggy so I took a couple of days off to recover. It was especially disappointing for us as we have never played Brighton on an arena tour before so we were really looking forward to it.

"It was a real shame and I can only say sorry to the people who were disappointed."

Nicky is determined to make it up to Westlife's loyal fans. He said: "No matter where the last show is on a tour it always has a real party atmosphere.

"If the Brighton dates are going to be our last concerts then I'm sure we will try to make it something special.

"We will certainly try to put a bit more into it and make sure it is a really great laugh for everyone."

The tour is Westlife's first since founder member Bryan McFadden quit the band in March to spend more time with wife Kerry and their two children.

Nicky said the band had quickly got used to being a four-piece and had no regrets over Bryan's departure.

He said: "To be honest it has been better than we all expected. I think it is the best tour we have done - but not because Bryan is not there.

"When he decided to quit we had to work even harder to prove to everyone there are no cracks in the band. Now we are just getting on with it and it's going fantastically well.

"No disrespect to Bryan but if someone does not want to go on the road any more then the best thing to do is let them leave. It wasn't the right time for Westlife as a whole to end."

Nicky said a new Westlife album would be in the shops by the end of the year.

He said: "After the tour we will probably do a couple of open-air shows before going back into the studio.

"Hopefully the album will be finished by October and we will promote it until Christmas before starting another tour a few months after that.

"We all still really enjoy it. There is nothing like getting up on stage and watching all the people who put you there singing all the songs back to you."