A British soldier who fatally shot a comrade in a "friendly fire" incident on an Afghan battlefield will forever have "blood on his hands", the dead man's family said following an inquest.

Lance Corporal James Brynin, 22, was part of a troop carrying out intelligence work on the Taliban in the Kakaran area, north east of Lashkar Gah, when he died in a "blue-on-blue" shooting on October 15 2013.

After coming under enemy attack, Lance Corporal of Horse Mark Kelly fired in the wrong direction and shot Shoreham-born L/Cpl Brynin, of Pulborough, who died from a gunshot wound to his face and neck.

Recording a narrative verdict, West Sussex senior coroner Penelope Schofield said L/Cpl of Horse Kelly "did not take sufficient care and fired in rapid succession" while resting his gun on the helmet of another soldier.

Ruling out an unlawful killing, Ms Schofield added: "These actions contributed to the fact that this soldier fired in the wrong direction, causing fatal injuries to L/Cpl Brynin."

Outside Arundel Town Hall, L/Cpl Brynin's father Efrem Brynin said the family blamed L/Cpl of Horse Kelly for the death, and blasted the Ministry of Defence for a "lack of empathy".

Mr Brynin told reporters: "It is, and has always been our opinion, that Kelly knew what he had done within moments of firing the round that killed our son James.

"Rather than acknowledging he did wrong, he instead chose to step back.

"The simple fact remains that his errors led directly to our son's death. He has, and will forever have, James' blood on his hands."

The inquest was halted last year to allow service police to decide whether the death may have been homicide.

But L/Cpl Brynin's family were told last November 30 there was "insufficient evidence" to prosecute L/Cpl of Horse Kelly.

Mr Brynin blasted the MoD for their treatment, adding: "It seems incredible to us that we should have to speak out for our dead son whilst the MoD has sought to excuse itself of any wrongdoing."

In her conclusion, Ms Schofield said L/Cpl of Horse Kelly believed he was firing at an insurgent, but was disorientated and must have fired in the wrong direction.

He accepted he made a "massive mistake" but felt an imminent threat to life, she added.

Ms Schofield said: "I do feel that (L/Cpl of Horse Kelly) did at the time he fired honestly believed that he was engaged with an armed Taliban fighter and that the force used could not be described as unreasonable."

The coroner said she would be writing a "letter of concern" to Chief of the General Staff General Sir Nick Carter on how the MoD managed the Brynin family.

Ms Schofield said there appeared to have been a "complete lack of empathy". And she described how poor communication by the Army had fostered "mistrust and suspicion" among the family who had been "let down", adding: "This is a service family who deserve better."

Ms Schofield added: "Whilst the Ministry of Defence is a well-oiled machine, it appears from the evidence of Efrem Brynin that some of the communication with the Ministry of Defence has gone so terribly wrong."

L/Cpl Brynin, an intelligence corps soldier attached to 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare), deployed to Task Force Helmand in August 2013 as an intelligence analyst to provide tactical tip-offs.

In the early hours of October 15 2013, the section deployed from Camp Bastion into the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province to counter an imminent threat to the Afghan population and the International Security Assistance Force.

Lawyer Thomas Coke-Smyth, for L/Cpl Brynin's family, said there was evidence the risk L/Cpl of Horse Kelly took was "unreasonable" as he knew there were friendly forces nearby when he opened fire.

Nicholas Moss, representing the Ministry of Defence, said there was insufficient evidence to conclude L/Cpl Brynin's death was an unlawful killing, and it was a "stressful situation" that called for self-defence.

Mr Moss told the coroner: "It's open to you to conclude that he didn't take sufficient care or fired too quickly, but there is no evidence to safely conclude that Kelly fired with indifference."

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hayward, the commanding officer (CO) of the Household Cavalry Regiment, told the inquest L/Cpl of Horse Kelly had since undergone additional training and was now "amongst the safest soldiers in the Army".

Lt Col Hayward revealed the death had had a "profound effect" on L/Cpl of Horse Kelly who broke down during a meeting when told he would have to "live with the knowledge" he had claimed a comrade's life.

Since the tragedy, L/Cpl of Horse Kelly has undergone and passed mandated training and additional training, and now exhibits "more care and rigour".