Singer Bonnie Tyler has been placed into an induced coma to aid her recovery after emergency intestinal surgery, a spokesman for the star has said.

It was revealed the 74-year-old from Skewen, Wales, had been rushed to a hospital near her home in Faro, Portugal, on Wednesday for the procedure and was recuperating.

A spokesman for the singer shared a further update on her health on Thursday evening.

"Bonnie has been put into an induced coma by her doctors to aid her recovery," he said.

The spokesman added: "We know that you all wish her well and ask for privacy at this difficult time please.

"We will issue a further statement when we are able to."

Born Gaynor Hopkins in a Neath council house, the gravel-voiced singer became an international sensation with Total Eclipse of the Heart in 1983.

Forty-three years on the song cemented its place in history by passing the billion streams mark on Spotify.

Tyler grew up with a love for music before being discovered by talent scout Roger Bell in a Swansea club.

She released her first single, Lost in France, in 1977. But it was Total Eclipse of the Heart five years later which changed her life.

A four-minute radio version took the world by storm, with the ballad spending two weeks at UK number one, and four weeks in the US.

Grammy-nominated Tyler has had a string of other hits, including Holding out for a Hero.

She represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013, and a decade later was made an MBE for her services to music.