A British former chef has been killed fighting Islamic State alongside a Kurdish militia in Syria, according to local activists.

Ryan Lock, 20, from Chichester, west Sussex, died last month in battle near the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ‘s (Isil) self-declared caliphate.

Mr Lock, who had no military background, left to fight with the Kurdish People’s Defence Units (YPG) military force last August after telling his family he was going to Turkey on holiday.

In a message on Facebook on 31 August, 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.”