Madrassa safety fears after cruelty case

A religious teacher at a Lancashire mosque who admitted using torture techniques on four children has been given a suspended sentence.

Irfan Patel, 33, of Pelham Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to four counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 at Preston Crown Court.

He admitted using stress positions in which pupils squatted for long periods as a punishment, and beating children between January and October 2011.

Unlike state schools, religious schools, or madrassas, are unregulated and teachers do not have to have specialist training.

The BBC's Abbie Jones reports on how some of the schools operate.

Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, from the Muslim Council of Britain, who also teaches at a Madrassa in Leicester, discussed the issue on BBC Breakfast.