The family of a British doctor who died in a prison in Syria made "superhuman" efforts to secure his release, an inquest into his death has heard.

A jury of seven men and four women was told by a coroner today of the steps the family took in the hope of winning freedom for orthopaedic surgeon Abbas Khan.

At the start of an inquest set to last around three weeks at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, chief coroner Judge Peter Thornton told jurors that the medic's mother Fatima in particular had been "extraordinarily persistent".

Dr Khan, a father of two from London, died while being held in custody by Syrian government officials last December.

He was captured in the city of Aleppo in November 2012 after travelling from Turkey to help victims of hospital bombings.

His family claim he was murdered while being held. The Syrian government has always maintained Dr Khan killed himself and that he was found hanging in a jail cell.