Newspaper took photo of the late Ryan Dunn from Facebook page of NZ-born Israeli killed in Gaza

A newspaper has apologised after mistakenly publishing a photograph of the late Jackass star Ryan Dunn to accompany a story about an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza.

The error, on the front page of the New Zealand Herald, involved the death of 21-year-old Sergeant Guy Boyland, who moved to Israel as a child after being born in the New Zealand town of Taupo.

It came about because Boyland had posted several images of Dunn, who died in a car crash in 2011, on his Facebook page. The paper lifted them in the belief they were of Boyland.

The paper issued an unreserved apology to the family and friends of Boyland. The Herald's editor, Shayne Currie, and Jane Hastings, chief executive of APN's New Zealand division, also spoke to Boyland's family.

In an apology on his paper's website, Currie wrote: "The family members have been remarkably forgiving, particularly in the circumstances. I have apologised for adding to their grief and I will keep them fully updated on how this happened as obviously it is unacceptable.

"I would also like to apologise to our readers. The public trust us to get it right, and we must make sure that this does not happen again.

"We are currently looking into what checks were made regarding the two images, with a view to ensuring procedures are reviewed to ensure that there is no repeat of this [type of] error in the future."

Sources: International Business Times/New Zealand Herald