An inquest has heard that an asylum seeker died after falling from a rooftop while fleeing immigration police..

Mustafa Dawood, 23, was found on the floor of an industrial unit with head injuries after a raid on Shaftesbury hand car wash in Newport, South Wales, on June 30 2018.

The Sudanese national had fallen through the warehouse roof while fleeing immigration officers after coming to thee UK to escape persecution in his home country.

On the first day of his inquest at Gwent Coroner's Court in Newport, the jurors were told they will be asked to decide the facts that contributed to Mr Dawood's death.

The court heard he was of the Zaghawa tribe from the Darfur region of western Sudan - a non-Arabic people who often face persecution from local Arab militia groups.

Coroner Caroline Saunders said: "Mustafa was finding living in Sudan increasingly difficult, and he was regularly stopped by the authorities - he eventually found the situation intolerable such that he decided to leave."

Mustafa was found after a raid on Shaftesbury hand car wash in Newport
Mustafa was found after a raid on Shaftesbury hand car wash in Newport ( Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

Ms Saunders told the jury Mr Dawood's asylum claim had been refused, adding: "Mustafa's asylum status and the actions of the authorities are outside the scope of this inquest."

She said the jury would have to decide if the visit from immigration officers "complied with rules and procedures and, if there were any variations, whether this was a reasonable cause of action".

Ms Saunders added: "In the event there were any facts that contributed to Mustafa's death, it will be up to you to determine what they were."

The officers arrived at the car wash in Albany Street at 10.08am on the day of Mr Dawood's death.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of him being pursued through buildings on Albany Trading Estate.

A few minutes later he was found on the floor of a warehouse with fatal head injuries. He was taken to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff but was pronounced dead at 2.45pm.

Mr Dawood's mother Hameda Hamed Shogar Ahmed, who was in court having travelled from the Sudanese city of Al Fashir, told the court her son had been constantly stopped by authorities in his home country.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of him being pursued through buildings on Albany Trading Estate.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of him being pursued through buildings on Albany Trading Estate ( Image: WALES NEWS SERVICE)

She said in a statement: "Mustafa was very close to me and his dad and he loved his siblings very much, he loved football and he was a good and loyal friend.

"It affected (his friends) very much when they heard he had died - this is a testimony as to the strength of his friendships.

She said Mr Dawood had worked with his father as a lorry driver but was often stopped and sometimes imprisoned.

"(In Sudan) there is so much killing every day, so many young people are killed or disappeared - that's why our young men have to flee to avoid the same destiny," Mrs Ahmed said.

Giving live evidence through an interpreter, she added: "(My son) felt a strong passion for human rights and felt that everyone should be protected and free to live their lives free from persecution and fear.

Gwent Coroner's Court in Newport
The inquest is being heard at Gwent Coroner's Court in Newport

Mustafa would call me often and tell me that he was doing all right - he reassured me that everything was OK and that he was working hard to learn English and was playing football with his friends during his free time.

"One thing that everyone remembers about Mustafa was that he had a passion for football and his nickname was Casillas, after the Spanish goalkeeper, and he played goalkeeper for our local football team.

"He told me he had made lots of friends in the UK - he was popular wherever he went so this did not surprise me."

Mrs Ahmed said her son had wanted to earn money to send back to Sudan to support his family.