A group of British schoolgirls and their teacher have reportedly been sexually assaulted at gunpoint during a volunteering trip to Ghana.

Four girls, aged between 16 and 17 were in the west African country on a school trip where they were volunteering with a charity, but were attacked in their accomodation on Saturday night by a man armed with a rifle.

According to The Sun, a Ghanaian security guard was shot and seriously injured after attempting to stop the gunman.

The schoolgirls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were part of a larger group of 10 pupils, and had paid more than £1,200 for the trip.

It is understood that the attack happened in a coastal town, just south of the capital city in an area that has been plagued by rogue ‘land guards’ who wield guns and destroy equipment and property owned by land developers.

The charity, which is based there, has accommodation quarters for volunteers and has welcomed British teenagers for more than five years, with links to UK schools and universities.