Russian soldiers found Roderick Scott's body among rebels killed outside the village of Galashki in the republic of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya.

Roddy Scott had been filming in Chechnya since June

He was carrying his British passport, a video camera and several tapes.

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said British officials in Moscow had been in contact with the Russian authorities about what he described as "a matter of grave concern".

But a Foreign Office spokesman told BBC News Online the Russian authorities had yet to provide official confirmation or a positive identification of the body.

Scott had been filming with rebels in Chechnya and the Pankisi Gorge region of Georgia since June.

Five weeks ago he told London-based agency Frontline News he was worried he would find it difficult to escape the region.

A spokesman for the agency, which has bought footage from Scott for the past six years, said the charming and lively 29-year-old had always shown tremendous commitment to reporting stories he thought had been forgotten.

At least nine Russian servicemen and seven rebels were also killed and a Russian army attack helicopter shot down during the battle around the village of Galashki, about 20 km (12 miles) from the administrative border with Chechnya.

Russian officials say that a large rebel formation had crossed into the area from Georgia, which said on Thursday that it was determined to eject Chechen rebels based on its territory.