Oil man died in rescue crossfire

Mr Hunt was a married man with five grandchildren

A British oil worker kidnapped by Nigerian warlords was killed when a rescue attempt went wrong, an inquest has heard.

David Hunt, 58, of Middlesbrough, died in a firefight between the rebels and the Nigerian Navy in November 2006.

He was one of seven workers snatched from a ship off the Nigerian coast.

Teesside coroner Michael Sheffield recorded a verdict of unlawful killing, but said it was impossible to say which side fired the fatal shots.

The court heard that the militants, known as The Supreme Egbesu Boys, were intercepted by the navy as they sped towards the coast with their hostages.

Ransom note

The grandfather-of-five was shot in the head and back when the kidnappers made him stand up with the other hostages to show the authorities that they had European captives.

He was killed instantly, the inquest in Middlesbrough heard.

Two of the kidnappers and a navy serviceman died in the exchange of gunfire, and an Italian hostage was hurt.

About 20 rebels had boarded the Mystras, a tanker and oil refinery moored 60 miles off the Niger Delta coast, on the night of 22 November.

They left the ship after six hours, leaving a ransom note for £1.6m.

Mr Hunt had worked as a production superintendent for nine-weeks on the boat for a subsidiary of Italian oil firm Eni.

Coroner, Mr Sheffield said: "Even if the hostage takers did not fire the shots which killed Mr Hunt, it may well have been the navy that fired the shots, it was still the rebels that were acting unlawfully so consequently David Hunt was unlawfully killed."

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