Guardians of the Galaxy model dies aged 10

Oreo the raccoon, the real-life model for Guardians of the Galaxy character Rocket, has died aged 10.

The news was announced on the comic book superhero team's Facebook page.

"Oreo passed away in the early hours of this morning after a very short illness," it reads. "Many thanks to our wonderful vets for their compassion and care."

Rocket the raccoon was voiced by Bradley Cooper in the 2014 film and its 2017 sequel.

Oreo accompanied the film's director, James Gunn to the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere.

Disney fired Mr Gunn as director of the planned third Guardians film over offensive social media posts - but the cast backed him and he is reportedly working on another superhero film script.