A Briton fought alongside Kurdish forces in Syria reportedly "turned his gun on himself" to avoid being captured by Islamic State (Isis) militants.

Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester in West Sussex, died on 21 December last year while fighting near Raqqa.

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He had been fighting alongside the YPG – the People's Protection Units – when he and four others came under siege from IS (fighters) in the village of Ja'bar.

A YPG source told the BBC the group showed "considerable resistance" before they were killed.

The source said that a "trace of a gunshot wound was found under the chin", suggesting suicide.

"It seems that the British fighter committed suicide in order not to fall captive with IS," the source added.

Lock, a chef, had travelled to Syria in August having told friends and family he was going on holiday to Turkey. He had no previous military experience and died two months before he was due to come home.

It made him the third Briton to be killed fighting IS in Syria. Former Royal Marine Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, 25, from Barnsley, was the first fatality when a missile hit his combat vehicle in March 2015 near the Syrian town of Tel Hamis.

On 21 July 2016, a second British citizen, 22-year-old dairy farmer Dean Carl Evans, was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in the city of Manbij, northern Syria.

Kurdish rights activist Mark Campbell, from KurdishQuestion.com, told the BBC: "Ryan Lock may very well have turned his own gun upon himself rather than be taken prisoner by IS. There are no words to describe the bravery required to take such an action.

"IS were robbed of a predictable macabre propaganda opportunity by Ryan's action. I personally believe he deserves the very highest of military honours for such outstanding bravery in the face of such a barbaric enemy."

In a statement, his father Jon Lock said: "Since we heard the devastating news of Ryan, it's been pretty tough, especially [with] the difficulties surrounding the repatriation. We are grateful to the YPG for bringing him home."