J.K. Rowling apologises for killing off 'much-loved' Harry Potter character

J.K. Rowling has apologised on Twitter for killing one of much-loved Harry Potter characters.

The Brit novelist posted on Twitter after killing Fred Weasley's character and said, "Today I would just like to say, I'm really sorry about Fred.*Bows head in acceptance of your reasonable ire*", the Mirror reported.

The 49-year-old author's tweet quickly clocked up 51,000 favourites and 47,000 retweets and it also wasn't long before Twitter users flooded her timeline with a number of witty retorts.

Weasley's character died when he was killed in an explosion during the Battle of Hogwarts.