British jihadi brides are returning home after being widowed, or being sent away by husbands preparing to make a final stand with the Islamic State group.

As many as 10 British women and their children have left the extremists’ so-called caliphate in recent months and a couple have already made it back to the UK, according to both counter-terrorism sources and a former jihadi bride.

Foreign women are also apparently fleeing after becoming disillusioned with the restrictions of life under Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (Isil).

Police and Home Office officials expect more women to arrive in the coming months, posing the question of what to do with them and their children.

More than 50 British women are estimated to have headed to Iraq and Syria in recent years. Some went out with their husbands and even children, but others travelled alone after being attracted by Isil social media recruiters portraying a jihadi bride’s life as a heady mix of romance, adventure and piety.