Heart of Midlothian great Alex Young has died in Edinburgh at the age of 80.

The winger, who was a key part of Hearts' league-winning teams in the 1950s, went on to have a distinguished career at Everton.

The Tynecastle side have said he was one of the club's "finest ever players".

Loanhead-born Young signed for Hearts in 1955 while still working at the local colliery.

His 20 goals were pivotal to the club's 1957/58 Scottish League Championship win. He also lifted the Scottish Cup and the League Cup.

Young went on to win the English league title with Everton in 1963 and the FA Cup three years later, earning the nickname The Golden Vision.

He made 273 appearances for Everton after joining in 1960, and scored 87 times before departing for Glentoran in 1968.

Young also made eight appearances for Scotland, scoring five times.

In a post on the Everton website, his son Alex Jnr said: "We are all very sad and will miss him terribly.

"He passed away peacefully with my mum by his side at a small hospital close to Edinburgh.

"He has been ill for a few weeks but he battled on bravely. It's still very raw but I wanted people on Merseyside to know.

"He loved Everton, he loved being back at Goodison Park. He always said it was like going to church."

A post on the Hearts website read: "He will go down in history as one of Hearts' finest ever players and the club would like to offer its sincere condolences to Alex's friends and family."