British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a personal blow Wednesday with the death of his father, 77-year-old Ian Cameron, who was hospitalised in France after suffering a stroke while on holiday.

Just hours before Downing Street announced the death, Cameron had cancelled all political engagements in London to be with his father at his bedside in a hospital in Toulon, near where the elder Cameron and his wife, Mary, had been vacationing.

Cameron, who was elected prime minister in May, had been due to address the first parliamentary session after the summer recess, following his own return from holiday.

As was the case during his recent summer holiday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will stand in for Cameron during his absence.

The news of the loss of his father came just weeks after Cameron, and his wife, Samantha, celebrated the birth of their fourth child, Florence, while they were on holiday in Cornwall.

Their oldest son, severely disabled Ivan, died at the age of six last year. Florence, who was born Aug 24, has two siblings, Arthur and Nancy.

Cameron, who has a sister and a brother, has in the past described his father, a stockbroker, as a 'huge hero figure' who instilled in him a 'sense of optimism'.

The elder Cameron had a leg deformity and endured repeated operations to correct the disability. But for him, the 'glass is almost half full', Cameron once said about his father.

Ian Cameron and his wife Mary, a former magistrate and local councillor, followed their son on the election campaign trail earlier this year and were overjoyed at the birth of another grandchild.