A SOUTHAMPTON campaigner made a last ditch phone call to the security services as terrorists struck the restaurant he was dining in.

The hearing into the death of Del Singh today heard about his final moments before insurgents detonated a bomb and opened fire on diners inside the eatery in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

In a written statement, a security expert told the hearing how Mr Singh made a last ditch phone call to the security services protecting him and gunfire could be heard in background.

Then the phone went dead.

Mr Singh, 39, of Northumberland Road, St Mary's, had been dining at the Lebanese restaurant Taverna du Liban in Kabul with colleague Gnanathurai Nagarajah when it was attacked by insurgents on January 17.

Both were among 21 people were killed in the attack The inquest heard how a suicide bomber set off a bomb to destroy the steel security gates on the restaurant, which was frequented by foreign nationals, killing two security guards.

Two gunmen then fired indiscriminately at diners though some staff managed to escape.

Del, who was a Labour MEP candidate died of gunshot wounds to the head and chest and would have died instantly, the inquest heard.

Del's sister, Dishi Kaur, from Northumberland Road, Southampton, the only family member to attend, broke down as she gave evidence describing Del as a "really great man".

Grahame Short, coroner for Central Hampshire, recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.