Three young girls will return home from volunteer work in Morocco after a local teacher allegedly wanted their 'heads cut off' for wearing shorts.

The girls were volunteering to help build a road in the village of Adar when they were threatened for wearing 'skimpy' clothing.

A Moroccan primary school teacher, who has not been named, allegedly called for their decapitation on social media because he wanted to 'teach a lesson to those who do not respect the Muslim faith', according to local media.

The Moroccan primary school teacher, who has not been named, allegedly called for female Belgian volunteers working in the Taroudant area (above) to have their 'heads cut off' on social media

The teacher was arrested on Monday and will be prosecuted for 'incitement to terrorist acts', Moroccan police said.

The Belgian women were part of a group of nearly 40 young people on a summer volunteering trip run by the Bouworde organisation, which said it was cancelling all its camps in Morocco as a result of the incident.

'We have been advised not to send new groups to Morocco. We will follow this advice and we have decided to cancel all the following camps in Morocco,' Bouworde said on its website.

The primary school teacher allegedly called for their decapitation because he wanted to 'teach a lesson to those who do not respect the Muslim faith', referring to 'young girls in skimpy clothing', according to local media

It said it had received safety assurances from the Moroccan authorities but would repatriate any other volunteers who felt unsafe. For now the remaining 34 wished to stay, it said.

The case of the Belgian women provoked strong reactions in the Moroccan press and on social media.

A demonstration in shorts is planned on a beach in Casablanca - launched by a Facebook page called 'Yes we short' following another 'Everyone in shorts' petition that collected more than 1,000 signatures.

One of the Belgian girls, named in French media as Luna, said: 'All the population is very kind. They are always friendly and they always say hello and how are you, and what is your name. I really love it here. I am really happy that I came here.

The women were volunteering on a construction site helping to build a road in the village of Adar when a local teacher complained about them working shorts. The volunteers are pictured above with shovels to help make the road

She added: 'This is such a lovely country and everything here is very cool.'

Another of the girls, Aline, 15, said in French: 'I am here to help Moroccans and it is really interesting to see the differences between us and them. She added: 'Morocco is a beautiful country.'

The comments were posted on social media and have led to the teacher's arrest for 'inciting terrorist acts'.