The family of a British man who died after being captured in the Ukraine war have raised £9,000 to repatriate his body.

Paul Urey, who lived in Warrington, was detained by pro-Russian separatists at a checkpoint in Ukraine in April and accused of being a mercenary.

His family and the UK government said he was doing humanitarian work.

His daughter Chelsea Coman said the repatriation would help to give the family "closure".

Mr Urey, 45, who had a heart condition and diabetes, died in July.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) had previously said it was unable to pay for the repatriation.

Ms Coman, 20, who lives in Manchester, said: "It would set our minds at ease to be able to lay him to rest and know that he's not in a different country still suffering even though he's died."

She set up a crowdfunder to raise funds for the repatriation, saying that they were told by FCDO that it could cost about £10,000.

"It's very overwhelming because a lot of strangers across the world have taken the time to write these messages and send money over to help us, and they don't even know us," she said.

"Without the GoFundMe and all these strangers giving us the money to help us bring dad home... I don't think we would have possibly been able to do it."

Ms Coman's stepfather, Christopher Chadderton, 53, has criticised the FCDO for their dealings with the family.

He said they left his stepdaughters "in a state of limbo, not knowing whether they could get their father back".

"Rather than saying, 'don't worry about the money, we'll get your dad back', it was a case of, 'to bring your dad back is going to cost this much'," he said.

Mr Chadderton said he was "very proud" of his stepdaughters for raising the money to repatriate Mr Urey's body.

"But I think a lot of it was unnecessary and it shouldn't have been put on such young shoulders such a huge responsibility," he added.

'Working with authorities'

An FCDO representative said it was "unfortunately not able to pay for the repatriation of British nationals who have died overseas".

"We have supported Paul's family throughout this ordeal and will continue to work with the Ukrainian authorities to get him home," they added.

"Our thoughts remain with the Urey family at this difficult time."

Earlier in September, the Ukraine government said Mr Urey's body had been returned by Russia with signs of "possible unspeakable torture".

If proven, they would contradict earlier statements by Russian-backed officials that he died due to health conditions.

In July, the FCDO summoned the Russian ambassador over Mr Urey's death, saying Russia must bear full responsibility.

Mr Urey was detained in April with Dylan Healy, from Cambridgeshire, who was freed this week, along with nine foreign nationals - including five Britons, after being held by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine.