AS national reports highlighted another 15-year-old schoolgirl leaving the UK this week to fight with Syrian jihadis, staff at the Peace Centre in Great Sankey have said the number of calls from concerned teachers over pupils being influenced by extremist groups has shot up in the last year.

The Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace violent extremist prevention programmes has seen staff working across the country but Kelly Simcock from the charity admits they are also currently fighting an 'anti-Muslim rhetoric' causing more young people to be pushed towards far right groups.

The charity has more than 20 years experience supporting young people with programmes bringing opposing sides together to broaden understanding and educate them on how to manage conflict and difference.

But director of commissions Kelly says schools are often a 'breeding ground' for 'dangerous ideologies' and teachers need to feel comfortable and equipped to tackle it in the classroom at the earliest possible stage.

She added: "We're definitely seeing a huge increase and demand for the programmes and increasingly getting a number of enquiries from teachers and other educational practitioners.

"There's no point waiting for these people to take themselves off to Iraq or Syria, we need conversations now.

"At the same time far right groups are an increasing issue across Europe with a growing support on social media.

"We have been doing this for many years and our programmes are not just targeted at young Muslims, in most cases we work in schools getting groups together."

Kelly added they had recently helped one pupil hold 'challenging conversations' with their parents who supported far right party BNP while a young boy from Bradford was discouraged from joining a group where he was at risk of falling into extremist views.

She said: "There have been so many examples and we still have contacts with people who were on the programme 10 years ago and tell us it changed their life."

Young people are often targeted by groups via social media and in the case of conflicts in Iraq and Syria, Kelly adds they believe they are involved in a 'just war' and have been given the opportunity to be part of a 'brotherhood' and the camaraderie that comes with that.

It provides a new, difficult and complicated challenge for the charity but thanks to fundraising across the town they are helping to stop extremist influences in their tracks.

Something Kelly believes people in Warrington should be very proud of.