Body of Chichester man killed fighting in Syria returns to hero's welcome

The body of a man from Chichester who died after travelling to Syria to fight Islamic State militants alongside Kurdish forces arrived back at Heathrow Airport to a hero's welcome.

Dozens of people, including members of the Kurdish community, held roses and framed pictures of 20-year-old Ryan Lock, as his body was repatriated to the UK.

Mr Lock, from Chichester in West Sussex, died in an offensive by anti-IS forces in a bid to retake the northern city of Raqqa, considered to be the terrorist group's de facto capital.

Former chef Mr Lock, who had no previous military experience, joined Kurdish militia after telling his family he was going on holiday to Turkey in August. He was killed on 21st December.

It later emerged that he turned the gun on himself to avoid falling captive to IS and being held as a propaganda tool.

A military ceremony attended by dozens of pro-Kurdish fighters, representatives from political parties and NGOs was held in Rojava last month.

Photographs of the ceremony showed a coffin displaying a photograph of Mr Lock, who went to school in Havant, and a Union flag surrounded by armed militia.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Syria. Mr Lock was the third British man to die fighting IS with the Kurds in Syria.

Dean Evans, 22, a dairy farmer from Reading, died in the city of Manbij in July last year.