LONDON (REUTERS) - One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson's mother has died from an aggressive form of leukaemia, her family said on Friday (Dec 9).

Johannah Deakin, 43, who worked as a midwife and had seven children, died on Wednesday in hospital in Sheffield, where she had been since May after being diagnosed with the cancer.

Tomlinson, Deakin's oldest child, is scheduled to perform at the final of British television singing contest The X Factor at the weekend, British media reported.

The show's creator Simon Cowell, who brought together the boy band during an earlier series in 2010, said on Twitter: "Heartbroken for you @Louis-Tomlinson. Your mum Jay was an incredible person."

Deakin's last Instagram post five weeks ago was a picture of Tomlinson, who she described as "my perfect boy".