The mother of a Royal Marine who died in a fire fight in Afghanistan said yesterday she was "disgusted" at the outcome of an inquest into his death.

The mother of a Royal Marine who died in a fire fight in Afghanistan said yesterday she was "disgusted" at the outcome of an inquest into his death.

Lance Corporal Mathew Ford died in an assault on Jugroom Fort, in Helmand, in January 2007.

His body was recovered in a daring rescue mission after three Royal Marines and a Royal Engineers officer strapped themselves to the sides of two Apache helicopter gunships to get him back after he was left behind.

Yesterday a coroner in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, gave a narrative verdict and said the forensic evidence was not clear enough for him to say whether L-Cpl Ford was hit by bullets from the Taliban or from his own colleagues.

Outside Cleethorpes Town Hall, his mother, Joan Ford, said: "From the day he died I still don't know what happened to him. I still don't know why he was left. I still don't know why he was shot.I still don't know who shot him.

"I hoped to find out what happened on that day."

Mrs Ford went on: "All that went on in there was rubbish, total rubbish. At the end of the day I'm just disgusted."

As she was speaking one of the Marine's brothers shouted "conspiracy".

Earlier, coroner Paul Kelly concluded a two-day inquest saying: "The nature of the forensic evidence in this case does not allow me to make finding to the required standard as to the origin of the rounds which entered L-Cpl Ford's body causing the injuries from which he died."

Mr Kelly recorded that the marine died from injuries sustained on active service.

The hearing was told that L-Cpl Ford, of 45 Commando based at Arbroath, was part of Zulu Company which was tasked with entering the fort after commanders judged a five-hour bombardment had neutralised the enemy inside.

But as soon as the company's Viking armoured vehicle arrived outside the fort walls, they came under heavy fire.

Four Marines were hit and immediately evacuated but amid the confusion L-Cpl Ford was left behind.

The inquest heard from Marine Matthew Kitson, who admitted he fired a burst into the fort from his machine gun mounted on a Viking vehicle. He said he was aiming at a muzzle flash.

He told the court: "I assumed, as I fired in that way, I may have hit them."

The court heard how ballistics experts decided that two recovered bullets - one from L-Cpl Ford's body armour and another from his assault partner's armour - were fired from the same gun but not from Marine Kitson's weapon.