Man froze to death in plane as he tried to sneak into Britain to see his girlfriend

A lovesick Turkish man froze to death after sneaking onto a plane to try and see his girlfriend in UK.

Penniless graphic designer Hikmet Komur, 32, was so desperate to see his girlfriend Luisa de Silva that he crawled into the landing gear bay of a British Airways plane in Istanbul.

He died on the journey to London after being exposed to temperatures of -60C which caused fatal brain damage.

Just before he flew to see his Portuguese girlfriend, he told his young son he would only be gone for a couple of days.

Mr Komur's body was found by crew at Heathrow Airport who spotted a human foot and some cloth hanging out of the landing gear cover, in July 2013.

Inside they found Mr Komur wearing a woolly hat and socks on his hands, West London Coroner's Court heard.

Ms de Silva, who last visited him in May, told the inquest he had bombarded her with texts, Skype messages and emails in the two months before he died.

She told the court he wanted her to live in Istanbul but when she refused he got hold of a fake passport and declared he would come to London instead.

She said: "Once he said he had no money, so I was sending money, £50 or £60. He said he was going to get a visa and come here. Then he sent me a picture of his passport. I knew it was not real."

A clearly distraught Ms de Silva told the inquest: "I tried to stop him but I couldn't do anything."

Just before his fateful journey he had emailed Ms de Silva saying he loved her.

Kazim Komur, Hikmet's brother who lives in London, said: "I have not seen him for over 15 years. But he had some family problems with his mother, with his siblings.

"My brother was an adventurer."

Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield recorded a verdict of accidental death and added: "It's clear that Hikmet Komur who in the past demonstrated an intention to work, to come to the UK, to be with his friend Luisa de Silva, who was a close friend and with whom he wanted to continue some kind of relationship.

"It's very likely that he intended to come to the UK by stowing himself in an undercarriage of BA675 from Istanbul.

"It's unclear how he got into that wheel bay but the evidences strongly suggests that it was voluntary."

The medical cause of Mr Komur's death was given as cerebral hypoxia, where the brain becomes severely damaged due lack of oxygen.

Addressing Mr Komur's brother in the court room, Mr Chipperfield said: "Mr Komur, I'm very very sorry for your loss. It must be distressing and difficult to come to court and listen to these things."