Today’s conclusion into the Shoreham Airshow disaster inquest “will not ease the pain” of the victims’ bereaved families but their voices “have been heard”, their solicitor has said.

The families of the 11 men killed in the plane crash on the A27 in 2015 hugged each other and cried after the senior coroner said their loved ones died following a “series of gross errors” by pilot Andrew Hill.

Senior Coroner Penelope Schofield ruled the men were unlawfully killed.

The solicitor representing most of the Shoreham Airshow crash victims’ families said they had “reached the end of their road” in terms of legal proceedings.

Sarah Stewart, of Stewarts law firm, said: “The families we represent would like to thank the senior coroner for her thorough investigation.

“The senior coroner has found that the deaths of the 11 innocent men in the Shoreham Airshow disaster on 22 August 2015 were avoidable.

“The bereaved families have waited more than seven years to reach this point and although the senior coroner’s conclusion will not ease the pain of their loss, their voices have been heard.

“The families we represent have come to the end of their road, their journey after seven long years this is the end of the road.”

Delivering her narrative verdict of an unlawful killing for all 11 men on Tuesday, senior coroner Penelope Schofield said: “Eleven innocent lives were cruelly lost on August 22, 2015. Lives that were cut way too short.

“This huge loss will be worn by the families for the rest of their lives.

“It has been a long journey, some seven years for you, to get the answers you wanted.

“It has been a difficult journey getting to this stage. I hope you feel that through these proceedings, you now have a voice.”