Pop star Doreen Waddell, who sang with top pop act Soul II Soul, was facing a blackmail charge when she died.

Police had accused her of trying to extort money from a man she had a sex with by threatening to tell his family.

Ms Waddell, 36, is believed to have denied the charge, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.

Sussex Police and the Crime Prosecution Service confirmed the blackmail accusation and said she was also facing charges of burglary.

The charges were dropped on Tuesday at Brighton Magistrates Court because of her death.

Ms Waddell died on Friday in an horrific accident with three vehicles on the A27 Shoreham bypass.

At the time she was suspected of shoplifting in Tesco at the Holmbush shopping centre, Shoreham, and had been chased by staff.

Meanwhile Jazzie B, the creative force behind Soul II Soul, has described Ms Waddell as "a very bright and lively person".

He said: "I'm very saddened to hear of Doreen's death and my condolences go to her son and family.

"When I knew her 15 years ago, Doreen was a very bright and lively person.

"She was a talented vocalist who worked on the Soul II Soul Club Classics album at the end of the Eighties."

Ms Waddell, 36, of Clarendon Villas, Hove, climbed over an embankment and on to the A27 road where she was hit by three cars. She died later in hospital, leaving a four-year-old son.

Ms Waddell was convicted of shoplifting from Woolworths in Blatchington Road, Hove, in December.

She was still singing in a non-professional capacity up to the time of her death.

An inquest will be held but a date has yet to be fixed.