Abubaker Deghayes, the father of three Brighton boys who fled the city to fight jihad in Syria, has himself left the UK in a bid to save his last surviving son.

Mr Deghayes is believed to have left for Syria in either February or March. Family sources say he intends to "rescue" his last surviving son Amer, 20, who travelled to the Middle East in January 2014.

Amer's brothers Jaffah, 17, and Abdulla, 18, were killed fighting Syrian government forces in separate incidents last year.

Amer, who has been regularly posting on Facebook and periodically speaking to The Argus during his time in Syria, has not been heard from online for nearly four weeks.

His father Abubaker is believed to have travelled to Libya, before heading to Syria via Turkey.

New reports also suggest a 17-year-old girl from Brighton – described as a close friend of the Deghayes family – was recently stopped at Gatwick on suspicion of attempting to join jihadis in Syria.

The incident was not publicly reported.

UPDATE: Abubaker Deghayes told The Argus today (Sunday) that he informed the authorities via his lawyers that he was leaving the country.

He said: "I made sure I did not leave until I informed them. I have not run away. I am fine, all is well and I shall be back soon."