Actor Corey Haim dies aged 38

Corey Haim, the 1980s teen heartthrob, best known for his roles in Lucas and The Lost Boys, died early yesterday, aged 38, at Providence St Joseph Medical Centre in Burbank, the Los Angeles County coroner Cheryl MacWillie said.

An autopsy will determine the cause of death and there were no other details, she said.

Police said there was no evidence of foul play.

Mr Haim had flu-like symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications, police said. The cause of death is unknown.

"As he got out of bed, he felt a little weak and went down to the floor on his knees," assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said. His mother called paramedics.

Mr Haim was taken by ambulance to the hospital from an apartment in Los Angeles near Burbank. The enormous complex is known as Oakwood and is popular with young actors, police sergeant Michael Kammert said.

Mr Haim acknowledged his struggle with drug abuse to The Sun in 2004, saying: "I was working on Lost Boys when I smoked my first joint. I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack."

Mr Haim said he went into rehabilitation and was put on prescription drugs. He took both stimulants and sedatives such as Valium.

"I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck," he said. "But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day."

In the 1980s, the Canadian-born Haim first came to international prominence in the 1986 movie Lucas, alongside Charlie Sheen and Winona Ryder, followed by his biggest hit, The Lost Boys, with Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric and Corey Feldman, as well as Licence to Drive, also with Mr Feldman.

He became known for his on-screen partnership and off-screen friendship with Mr Feldman, who also struggled with drug abuse and they often were called The Two Coreys.

The pair starred in a reality TV series of the same name on American cable television in 2006, but it was cancelled before finishing the second season.

According to US media reports, Mr Haim was found unresponsive in his apartment and an investigation is continuing.