Briton took his own life to avoid capture by IS

Coroner said man died a hero in Syria

He died doing something he quite clearly believed passionately in. Coroner David Horsley

A YOUNG Briton who died fighting alongside Kurdish forces in Syria killed himself to avoid falling hostage to militants from the so-called Islamic State, an inquest heard.

A coroner said Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, West Sussex, died a hero last December fighting with the People’s Defence Units (YPG) in the northern city of Raqqa, considered to be IS’s de facto capital.

Former chef Mr Lock, who had no previous military experience, joined the Kurdish militia after telling his family he was going backpacking to Turkey in August last year.

An inquest in Portsmouth, Hampshire, heard that after being wounded and surrounded by IS fighters, he turned his gun on himself to avoid being captured and suffering a “frightening and painful death”.

Recording a narrative verdict, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire coroner David Horsley said Mr Lock had suffered a leg wound that left him at risk of falling into the hands of a “cruel and ruthless” enemy.

Mr Horsley said: “He was not prepared to let that happen and used his own weapon to avoid capture. That can only be viewed as a brave action.”

The coroner described Mr Lock as a “heroic young man” and added: “He died doing something he quite clearly believed passionately in.”

In the months before he died, Mr Lock had kept in touch with his family from Syria via Facebook Messenger, sending them pictures and updates on his military training.

But after losing contact with him, Mr Lock’s father, Jon Plater, found images online of his son with an IS fighter standing over his body, and his death was later confirmed, the inquest heard.

Pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said Mr Lock’s cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head.

Mr Lock flew from Luton to Istanbul on Flight KK6004 on August 24 before boarding a connecting flight to Iraq.

Mr Lock’s mother, Catherine Lock, told the inquest how her son had given few clues about his intentions to fight IS in Syria.

She recalled him remarking how bad the situation was in Syria after watching a television news item.

But Ms Lock said: “It wasn’t something he would constantly comment on, but he was quite a quiet person. He could be quite sheltered, and he would be quite careful what he said.”

Ms Lock said her son only revealed a few days beforehand that he was intending to go travelling but kept secret his plan to head to Syria with the YPG.