Sting's Broadway musical The Last Ship is set to close just three months after opening its doors.

The show, inspired by the singer's memories of growing up in the north east of England, opened in late October to mixed reviews and has struggled at the box office.

Sting, who composed the songs, took on a starring role as a shipyard foreman, replacing leading man Jimmy Nail, in December, in an attempt to boost sales.

But producers have now tweeted that the musical, written by John Logan and Brian Yorkey, will end on January 24, when Sting finishes his run in the show.

The Last Ship is a semi-autobiographical story about a man who returns to Wallsend, near Newcastle, where Sting grew up, to find the workers in the shipbuilding town are now unemployed.

The former Police frontman has previously said of the show: "This was never going to be easy. I didn't anticipate a shoo-in at all. I expected a battle because I want to succeed against the odds."

Singer-songwriters who have worked on musicals include Bono and The Edge, Cyndi Lauper, Sheryl Crow, Fatboy Slim and Burt Bacharach.