A British actor has reportedly re-entered Syria to fight against the Islamic State terror group.

Michael Enright, who appeared in Pirates Of The Caribbean alongside Johnny Depp, said he wanted to "stand up" to the extremists having previously claimed to have spent time fighting with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in 2015.

The 52-year-old, originally from Manchester, accepted his Hollywood career is over but insisted he hopes to help defeat IS - also known as Isis and Daesh - in its de facto capital of Raqqa.

Speaking to Channel 4 News in London before his return, Mr Enright said: "Somebody has to stand up. Somebody has got to - as we speak right now, little girls are being raped. We should stand up to that."

Pressed on claims by other Western volunteers about him, including that he is "mentally unstable" and was kicked out of fighting units during his previous visit, Mr Enright said: "First of all, none of the soldiers I fought with say that at all.

"The only people who have said anything negative were the people I came with from the academy who I came over the hill with - the academy is a place where we train.

"I came over the hill with four or five guys, they didn't want me there. I had no military background, I'm an actor - and I didn't realise they really looked down on that - and I'm old as far as they're concerned."

Asked if he was going back for what he hopes is the final push, Mr Enright said: "Yeah, well, to take their capital. Where's your country now? Where's your caliphate now?"

On whether fighting in Syria will be something he does for the rest of his career and life, Mr Enright replied: "No, it's not going to be the rest of my life because one, either I'm going to die over there fighting this time, so in that case I guess it would be.

"If, God willing, I don't and I make it out then it won't be a long fight anyway. Isis is not going to be around in that area very long in my opinion at all."