The first white British youth to join ISIS in Syria was a 'class clown' who was turned to Islam by his Muslim school friends, MailOnline can reveal.

Jack Letts, who now goes by the name Ibrahim or Abu Muhammed, is living in Iraq after fleeing the UK when he was 18.

The middle-class 20-year-old son of an organic farmer from Oxford told his parents that he was going to study Arabic in Kuwait before secretly travelling to Syria, arriving in September 2014.

Jack Letts, who now goes by the name Ibrahim or Abu Muhammed, is living in Iraq after fleeing the UK when he was 18

Jack's life as a jihadi is a far cry from his comfortable upbringing at the hands of Canadian father, John (pictured right), an organic farmer and archaeobotanist and his mother, Sally (pictured left), a books editor

Expert: John Letts is seen on Countryfile with presenter Matt Baker, left

MailOnline understands 'Jihadi Jack' is now a frontline fighter for the brutal terror group and lives with his Iraqi wife and his son Muhammed after moving to the Iraqi city of Fallujah from Raqqa.

It is a far cry from his comfortable upbringing at the hands of Canadian father, John, an organic farmer and archaeobotanist and his mother, Sally, a books editor.

John won a grant from Prince Charles’s Countryside Fund for his company Heritage Harvest, which helps farmers grow cereals for thatch and grain, and once appeared on the BBC’s Countryfile chatting with presenter Matt Baker.

Friends today said he was a 'class clown' who converted to Islam after being egged on by his Muslim classmates.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, one friend - who asked to remain anonymous - said: ' I feel like he has been exploited. No one wants to fight in ISIS unless they've been brainwashed. It's really alarming how powerfully he has changed.

'He was always an atheist, pretty liberal, typical middle class kid. At school he was the class clown but didn't take it too far, he was still smart and got fair grades.

'Then he started befriending a group of Muslim boys at the school and that exposed him to Islam. I noticed he started becoming very preachy and was using Arabic, which was strange because I only ever saw him as a typical Oxford boy.

'Then he started growing a beard, becoming more reserved, deleting his photos on Facebook, he sort of disappeared into a world where he only associated with like-minded people.

'His parents were always kind and nice, very loving and providing, they lived a good life and Jack had a good upbringing.

Jack Letts (circled, middle), who now goes by the name Ibrahim or Abu Muhammed, is living in Iraq after fleeing the UK when he was 18. Friends today said he was a 'class clown' who converted to Islam after being egged on by his Muslim classmates (pictured in 2012)

Now Jihadi Jack, 20, claims he is a frontline fighter for the brutal jihadi group and lives with his Iraqi wife and his son Muhammed in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. (pictured at home in Iraq)

The Oxford born extremist posted this photograph online, telling a friend he was 'travelling' in May last year

'He did talk passionately about ISIS, but I always assumed he meant he opposed them, not that he would join them.'

Letts attended Cherwell School in Oxford, where peers said he was a keen sportsman and avid supporter of Liverpool Football Club.

Before he converted to Islam, he drank alcohol and occasionally smoked cannabis with his friends. He was also a fan of graffiti art, specifically Banksy, friends said.

'He was liked by a lot of the students. That's why this whole thing of him going to live in Syria and join Isis doesn't make any sense,' a pal told The Sunday Times.

It is thought Letts began to take an interest in the Middle East during the Arab Spring in 2011. Prior to converting to Islam, he was an atheist and appeared to have little interest in religion despite being christened as a child.

He went to start learning Arabic and attended the Madina Masjid, a mosque near his home in Oxford, changing his name to Ibrahim - the Arabic version of his original middle name, Abraham.

He did talk passionately about ISIS, but I always assumed he meant he opposed them, not that he would join them. School friend

Several of his friends have claimed that the 20-year-old was radicalised in a private prayer meetings and the mosque was not responsible for the hardening of his views.

One said: 'His conversion to Islam was slow but happened quickly when it did.

'There is a massive Muslim influence around here, which is great actually, I believe a lot of the youth are more tolerant and open minded.

'He converted and was slowly groomed online by Islamic extremists. He went to a local mosque and when other people there knew what he was planning they tried to stop him, telling him it was against God and told his parents but he did not listen and went anyway.

'He has contacted his parents and others since but there are no signs of him coming back any time soon.'

Upon leaving for Syria, Letts lied to his parents and told them he was moving to Kuwait. Unknown to his family, he had already made contact with a ISIS recruiter over social media.

The MailOnline understands that upon reaching Syria, he met fellow British ISIS fighter, Omar Hussain, also known as the supermarket jihadi.

Despite his care in trying to hide his identity, he posted several photos of himself posing with weapons, thought have been taken near the Tabqa dam in Syria.

The transition from Oxford schoolboy to ISIS jihadist has shocked his old friends from school, some of whom have nicknamed him 'Jihadi Jack'.

The transition from Oxford schoolboy to ISIS jihadist has shocked his old friends from school, some of whom have nicknamed him 'Jihadi Jack'

Before he converted to Islam, Jack (left) drank alcohol and occasionally smoked cannabis with his friends

His family - who live in a red-brick terraced house in the centre of Oxford - refused to comment when approached.

However, neighbours spoke of their 'utter sadness' at his decision to join the blood-thirsty terror organisation.

One woman, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke of her concern when she first discovered Jack had converted to Islam.

She said: 'One day I came out of my house and I saw him sat on the pavement, in the cold. I approached him and asked what was wrong. He told me he had forgotten a key and could not enter his house, so I invited him in and made him a cup of tea and gave him some biscuits.

'When we were inside, he suddenly asked me, 'can I pray?' I told him that he could of course pray, but it was unusual because his family were not Muslim.

'As we were talking, he said to me, 'I am going to Saudi Arabia after school. I want to go there to further my education.'

Friends today said Letts converted to Islam in a short period of time, became 'very preachy' and started using Arabic

'This made me very worried. He told me he had started visiting a mosque. I believe he started going there with his classmates.

'I spoke with his father who became very worried. I sat with him and told him not to worry, that Islam means peace. I told him to pray that his son follows the good path, not the bad one.

'To hear that he has gone away to Syria brings me utter sadness. I feel very depressed, and I feel bad for him.

'His father was very depressed when we last spoke, it must be terrifying for him to have a son going into a war zone. I have not heard from his father for many months now.'

The neighbour added: 'What they are doing out there is awful, it is not Jihad, it is killing. They have been brainwashing children and telling them if they do not kill they will go to hell.

'I fear Jack has been brainwashed and has followed the wrong path along with some of his class fellows.

Upon reaching Syria, Letts met fellow British ISIS fighter, Omar Hussain (pictured), dubbed the Supermarket jihadi due to his former job as a security guard at Morrisons supermarket

'The family are very nice, but they have been very unlucky.'

Another neighbour, who also asked to remain anonymous, said: '[Jack's] father is a very good man, but now he is depressed because of all of this.

'He grows unusual varieties of rye experimentally and breaks it down into flour in a mill, which he sells on to health food shops.

I fear Jack has been brainwashed and has followed the wrong path along with some of his class fellows. Letts family neighbour

'I believe he used to grow the wheat in Burford and in fields just south of Oxford, but I couldn't be sure where.

'John would sell the bread from his house, so quite often I would see people knocking on his door and buying bread right on the doorstep.

'I know he would often use old school methods in the fields, cutting the crop with scythes and piling the wheatsheaf up.

'We barely see the family now. I know with his line of work he can quite often work night and day, but the family don't seem to come out of their home as much as they used to.

'It must be terribly worrying for the family. Iraq is a country of war.'

A close family member, believed to be Jack's father but not confirmed, spoke out against the circulation of information in the media about the young lad.

'There has been an avalanche of misinformation', the family member, who did not share his name, said.

'We don't want to comment on all of this, but what I will say is that 95 per cent of what has been published is incorrect, it is desperately wrong.

'The only truth is that Jack is a Muslim and he is overseas.'