THE owners and staff at a Tunisian hotel where University of Worcester student Joel Richards was killed in a terrorist attack could have done nothing before the attack that would have done more than "possibly make a difference", a coroner said.

He made the comments during the inquests into the deaths of 30 British tourists, who he ruled were unlawfully killed on the beach and grounds of the Sousse hotel in June 2015 after Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire.

Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said he could not include "neglect" by holiday firm TUI or the owners of the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel when ruling on the deaths of the British victims.

The lawyers for more than 20 of Rezgui's victims had wanted this included after the lengthy inquest heard evidence from survivors that they were not warned of the danger of holidaying in Tunisia before they left.

The inquests also heard the hotel had just a handful of unarmed guards, while "cowardly" local police delayed their arrival to tackle Rezgui, who killed 38 people in total.

Giving his reasons for rejecting a neglect ruling, Judge Loraine-Smith said there were a lot of "what ifs" around the case, and better hotel security may simply have meant more people died on the beach.

As the packed courtroom watched in silence he said the only factor that may have made a material difference was if the hotel had armed guards.

But Judge Loraine-Smith said: "Having reviewed the legal advice on gun law in Tunisia it's clear this was not a realistic option."

He added: "The simple but tragic truth in this case is that a gunman armed with a gun and grenades went to that hotel intending to kill as many tourists as he could."

Judge Loraine-Smith added the local police "most certainly" were responsible for tourist security, and said: "Their response could and should have been effective."

He added: "The response by the police was at best shambolic, at worst cowardly."

The judge said one officer "fainted through terror and panic" and a guard took off his shirt to hide the fact he was an officer.

He said with the exception of two marine guards, no police entered the hotel grounds until the gunman had killed all 38 tourists.

However, the judge said although in general the response of the hotel staff was "disorganised and chaotic" some of them displayed "conspicuous personal courage" in their efforts to protect the guests.

He said this courage was also shown by guests at the hotel too.

The inquest had previously heard from Joel Richards' brother Owen, was was 16 at the time, who described how they tried to flee from the rampaging gunman.

Owen tried to shield his grandfather Charles Evans, aged 78, as Rezgui shot dead Joel, aged 19, and his uncle Adrian Evans, aged 49.

The family, who were enjoying the first day of a "boys' outing", fled from the outdoor pool area after hearing gunshots from the direction of the beach.

Joel, who was studying Sports Science at the University of Worcester, was sitting on the edge of the pool, and his uncle and grandfather were on sun loungers a short distance away.

As guests began to flee, both teenagers ran to the older men before making for the hotel.

The gunman caught up with them near the indoor pool and shot Joel, his uncle and his grandfather.

Owen, who was hugging his granddad on the floor, escaped with a wound to his left shoulder.

Judge Loraine-Smith said there were customers who would not have gone to Tunisia if they had seen the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice.

"Even prior to the attack on the Bardo Museum the advice was that there was a high threat of terror," he said, adding that the advice pointed out that attacks could be "indiscriminate"