A heroic Brit who died fighting ISIS in Syria killed himself to avoid being captured after he was surrounded by terrorists, an inquest heard.
Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, West Sussex, died last December fighting with the People's Defence Units 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 surrounded by ISIS fighters, he turned his gun on himself to avoid being captured and suffering a "frightening and painful death".
In the months before he died, Mr Lock had kept in touch with his family via Facebook Messenger, sending them pictures and updates on his military training.
But after losing contact with him last December, 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.
His father Jon previously said: “Ryan was a very caring and loving boy who would do any thing to help anyone. He had a heart of gold."
The YPG released a statement offering their condolences to his family.
The group said: “Ryan joined actively in our offensive against the terror threat that Isis caused upon Rojava, Kurdistan. Here, on the dark hours of 21 December 2016, we lost our brave companion Ryan and four other fighters in Jaeber village.
“Ryan was not only a fighter providing additional force to our struggle. In fact, with his experience and knowledge he has been an example for younger fighters.
"While he has reached a vast amount of achievement up in our frontlines, Ryan has served the purpose of a very important bridge between us, the Kurds of Rojava.
"He crossed continents for the destiny of our people and humanity.”
After telling family and friends he was going on holiday, Mr Lock revealed his real intentions in a Facebook post on August 31.
He wrote: “I’m on my way to Rojava. I lied about going to Turkey. I’m sorry I didn’t tell anyone. I love all of you and I will be back in six months.”
In November, he posted a picture of himself with facial injuries, along with the words: “We were taking a small village when we got hit by Turkish jets in the night.
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