A Norwich man killed in a terrorist siege at an Algerian gas plant had the presence of mind to make and send pictures of his captors to his family and friends, an inquest heard.

A Norwich man killed in a terrorist siege at an Algerian gas plant had the presence of mind to make and send pictures of his captors to his family and friends, an inquest heard.

Sebastian John, 26, was one of 40 hostages killed during a four-day stand-off in January 2013 at the In Amenas plant.

During an inquest into Mr John's death at the Royal Court of Justice in London, he was commended for his bravery during the ordeal.

Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent James Stokley told the court that Mr John had emailed pictures of the terrorists to his family and friends.

Coroner Nicholas Hilliard QC interrupted to say: 'So Mr Sebastian John had the presence of mind to make and send pictures of his captors, an extremely brave thing to do at considerable risk to himself.'

His widow Nicola said she wanted to understand 'as clearly as possible how and in what circumstances' Mr John had died so she could tell their young son, who was just seven months old at the time.

Mr John was a civil and structural engineer for BP and had only arrived in Algeria a week before the siege to do a training course.

Speaking after his death, Mrs John said: 'Sebastian was the most amazing person.

'He was a fantastic husband, father, son and brother. There won't be a moment that goes by where we won't think of him.

'We are so proud of Sebastian for all he achieved in his life. He was taken away from us too early and in the most tragic circumstances. We will always love him, he will be forever in our hearts.'

Mr John was a former Norwich School pupil who went on to achieve a first class degree from Loughborough University.

He was one of six Britons to die in the attack, when the In Amenas plant was stormed by Islamists armed with machine guns and explosives. A post-mortem confirmed Mr John died from a head injury.