A wanted man was shot dead as he tried to escape a hotel car park assassination in the car of a man and his disabled daughter.

Paul Simmons-Turner, 38, was ambushed by a balaclava-wearing gunman as he sat in his car at the Marriott Hotel in Oldshire Lane, Waltham Abbey on December 8 last year.

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray returned a verdict of unlawful killing yesterday (August 24) at Essex Coroners Court in Chelmsford.

Mr Simmons-Turner, who was being hunted by Essex Police after an alleged assault at a Loughton nightclub in May 2015, was shot in the mouth by the mystery gunman at point blank range with a handgun.

The girlfriend of Mr Simmons-Turner, saw the attempted killing and ran back into the reception of the hotel urging staff to call police.

Describing the details of the assassination at the inquest, detective sergeant Michelle Stoten said: “At 9.45am Mr Simmons-Turner and his partner left the Marriott Hotel, they parted company within the car park.

“He walked towards his Vauxhall Corsa.

“Suspect one, who was wearing a balaclava, got out of a black Audi.

“He approached him on the driver’s side and produced a handgun which he fired towards Mr Simmons-Turner.

“He was hit but he pushed the suspect out of the way.

“The same black Audi could be seen as it reversed out of the car park.”

The wounded man, who was friends with some members of the TOWIE cast, stumbled across the car park and flagged down a passing car being driven past the hotel.

He got into the front passenger seat of the car and pleaded to be taken to hospital.

The driver, whose disabled daughter was sat in the back, drove from the scene with the blood-soaked passenger but was pursued by a black Audi driven by the gunman’s accomplice.

The Audi pulled in front of the car, forcing it to stop.

The gunman then jumped out of the car before firing a shot into Mr Simmons-Turner’s chest, leaving him fatally injured.

The driver then drove to the nearby Volunteer pub where desperate attempts were made to resuscitate Mr Simmons-Turner.

At the inquest, it emerged that the killer and his accomplice arrived at the hotel in their Audi at 1.20am.

They stayed in the vehicle and lay in wait until the attempted hit in the car park at 9.45am.

Police and paramedics were called after the second shooting but despite desperate efforts to save Mr Simmons-Turner, he was declared dead at 10.19am.

The inquest heard that no arrests have been made but detectives are pursuing a number of leads.

The Audi was stolen during a burglary last October in Barnet and had cloned registration plates on.

A post mortem carried out the day after the shooting showed the cause of death to be gunshot wounds.

A Home Office pathologist concluded the initial shot to the mouth had not been fatal but that the second shot went through Mr Simmons-Turner’s lung and heart, killing him.

The coroner asked for her sympathy to be expressed to the dead man’s family.