One of the region's richest and most controversial businesswomen, known as the Midlands Steel Queen, has died.

Jean Broadhurst, a 63-year-old steel tycoon who was ranked the 32nd richest woman in the West Midlands and was said to be worth £55 million last year, died after a long battle with cancer.

She made her fortune from steel stockholding and owned a number of businesses such as Birmingham-based firm Galvanised Sheet and Coil Ltd which saw its profits soar to £348,027 last year.

Her family also branched out into other sectors such as golf courses and engineering but it was the glamorous world of horseracing for which she was best known and she was never far from the headlines as a successful racehorse owner.

Along with her longterm partner Matt Archer, she first became involved in racing ten years ago having horses such as Upgrade who won the 1998 Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.

She and Archer moved their horses to champion trainer Martin Pipe two years later and continued to enjoy considerable success.

Four of her horses - Westender, Sixo, Team Tassel and Buena Vista - hold entries at next week's Cheltenham Festival.

The Pipe stable paid this tribute to Ms Broadhurst on their official website: "Jean's love for her horses goes unsurpassed.

"She truly adored everyone and her enthusiasm for every Pond House runner was immense, cheering and screaming the winners home on the telephone, faxes by the dozen. Racing has lost the most wonderful, charismatic lady and she will not be replaced."

But her successful career was also dogged with controversy after she was charged with blackmail, theft and falsifying documents after a massive police investigation into her company, European Steel Sheets, led to a series of trials which started in 1985.

But Miss Broadhurst was spared from appearing in the dock when the Attorney-General took the rare step of issuing an ancient nolle prosequi order because she was said she was close to death after suffering from cancer.