Women have been banned from driving in Saudi Arabia since 1932

in August and is the first of its kind in the UK

Jewish mothers have been banned from driving by their Orthadox sect who were today accused of trying to turn their London community into Saudi Arabia.

Community rabbis have also agreed that children dropped off in cars for school by their mothers should be turned away because women drivers break 'the traditional rules of modesty in our camp'.

The diktat was announced in a letter signed by leaders of schools run by the Belz Hasidic sect, which is a group in the Orthodox branch of Judaism, and has a large community in north London.

Rabbis are also backing the ban, and one said: 'It's always been regarded as not the done thing for a lady to drive'.

Ban: Members of a Jewish Hasidic sect in London have urged schools to turn away children if they are driven to school by their mothers (file pictured)

The letter, sent to members of their community, also says that because of a marked increase in 'mothers of pupils who have started to drive', which has caused 'great resentment among parents of pupils of our institutions'.

As a result it says that from August children driven by mothers will not be allowed in to study and the ban is believed to be the first of its kind in Britain.

Dina Brawer, the UK Ambassador of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, who said she has seen the letter, told the Jewish Chronicle that the 'draconian ban' is only about 'power and control of men over women'.

She added: ' In this sense it is no different from the driving ban on women in Saudi Arabia. That it masquerades as a halachic (Jewish religious law) imperative is shameful and disturbing' .

Women have been barred from driving in Saudi Arabia since the establishment of the state in 1932 and last year a woman reportedly received 150 lashes after being caught behind the wheel.

In December two women's rights campaigners who tried to drive into Saudi Arabia were told they would face a special 'terrorism' court for flouting the ban on women motorists.

In London Belz sect members run at least two large schools in north London, which educate hundreds of young Jews.

Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass and Beis Malka are rated 'good' by Ofsted.

Despite some rabbis backing the ban the Jewish Chronicle says that several of their wives do drive.

One woman, who asked not to be named, said the proposal 'disables women' because 'the more kids they have, the more they need to drive'.

And of the rabbis she said: 'They say one thing, they do another'.

Home: There are Belz synagogues in north London, pictured, and some of the group's rabbis have backed calls for women not to drive

Last year another sect caused anger in the Stamford Hill area when an orthodox Jewish group organised a religious parade but demanded men and women walk on different sides of the road.

Belz Rebbe is an ancient Polish-Jewish dynasty which has its roots in the 14th Century in the Polish town of the same name, and is one of the main Hasidic sects.

Hasidic Jews wear clothes similar to that worn by their ancestors in 18th and 19th century Europe - and this style of attire is also said to help them to focus on their sense of tradition and spirituality.

They set up their headquarters in Israel after the Second World War and in 2013 the wedding of the group's leader's grandson was attended by 25,000 guests.

The biggest communities outside Israel are found in the United States, England, Belgium and Australia.

Their lives revolve around religious study, prayer and family - and many live without television, films, the internet or secular publications.

The men generally have beards and sidelocks ( peyot ) and women tend to wear long skirts and shirts with long sleeves and high necklines as they adhere to strict guidelines of modesty.

After the women get married, they cover their heads with either scarves, hats or wigs, known as 'sheitels'.