A man who was kept prisoner in a garden shed for four months, where he was tortured and fed on potato peelings, was unlawfully killed by his captors, a coroner has ruled.

A man who was kept prisoner in a garden shed for four months, where he was tortured and fed on potato peelings, was unlawfully killed by his captors, a coroner has ruled.

Kevin Davies, 29, was held hostage in the village of Bream, in Gloucestershire, beaten daily and given meals of vegetable scraps, an inquest heard.

Meanwhile, his tormentors, David Lehane, 35, and Amanda Baggus, 26, used his benefit money to pay debts they said he owed them for wrecking their car.

It was only when Mr Davies collapsed on the evening of September 26, 2006, on the kitchen floor, weighing just 7 stone (44kg) that the couple holding him were forced to call the paramedics. Burns covered 10% of Mr Davies' body and his bottom has been branded with a cross, the court heard.

His death was ultimately caused after he was struck around the head with a plastic jug by Baggus, who also confessed to repeatedly beating him.

Recording his verdict, Gloucestershire Coroner Alan Crickmore said: "I have heard a chilling account of how Mr Davies was treated. He was frequently assaulted, fed scraps from the table, burned and locked up for hours on end.

Lehane and Baggus, his girlfriend, both from Bream, were each sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment last year.