A member of former Brit Award winners Belle and Sebastian has quit the band.

Cellist and singer Isobel Campbell quit the band midway through a tour of the US to return home.

The remaining members have confirmed she has now officially left the band, although they say the split was friendly.

The band also say that none of their current commitments such as touring and promoting will be affected by the shake-up and that Campbell will not be replaced.

A statement said: "The split is amicable, and it is true to say Isobel will be missed."

Their new album Storytelling, featuring the vocals of Campbell, was only released on Monday.

Isobel Campbell in an early publicity shot for the band

Campbell now plans to record solo material to be released later in the year. She already has released records with her own band, The Gentle Waves.

Belle and Sebastian were shock winners of the best newcomer category at the 1999 Brit Awards, beating pop groups Five and Steps.

While the band are notoriously publicity-shy, their quirky and gentle sound has won them a cult following around the world.

The band began when Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David met on a government training scheme in Glasgow in 1996. David quit in 2000 to concentrate on his writing career and his own band, Looper.

Private projects

Campbell joined the line-up in the same year as they recorded their first records. Their first full album release was the critically acclaimed If You're Feeling Sinister in 1996.

Despite winning the Brit Award the band still stayed on the outskirts of the pop charts, preferring to maintain their cult status.

One of their biggest successes came with the release of the single The Boy With the Arab Strap which reached number 18 in the charts.

Their last album Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant was released in 2000, followed by a quiet year when members went off to concentrate on their own projects.

They reunited in 2001 to record Storytelling, which is the soundtrack to a US film, and to tour extensively.

Belle and Sebastian are due to play at the Glastonbury Festival over the weekend of 27-29 June.