Skelmersdale father Jason Swindlehurst died of gunshot wounds while being held hostage in Iraq

Jul 2 2009 by Thomas Martin, Skelmersdale Advertiser

THE Skelmersdale dad who was held hostage in Iraq was shot dead, it has been reported.

Security guard Jason Swindlehurst’s body was flown home last week.

A coroner has concluded Mr Swindlehurst, a 39-year-old father-of-one, and colleague Jason Creswell, from Glasgow, died from gunshot wounds.

The men’s families and those of the other three British hostages who are still missing in Iraq are believed to have been informed.

The bodies of the two men were flown from Baghdad to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

The Oxfordshire Coroner opened inquests into their deaths and is expected to release the men’s bodies to their families so funerals can be held.

A Foreign Office spokesman declined to comment on the inquests, saying: “This is an ongoing matter for the coroner.”

The two Jasons were among a group of five Britons kidnapped in Baghdad on May 29, 2007.