British teenager charged in connection with alleged plot to attack Anzac Day parade

Anzac Day marks the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces in the First World War

The teenager will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday (Getty Images)

The Crown Prosecution Service said the 14-year-old was arrested in Blackburn on two counts of aiding a plan to target events marking the centenary of the First World War Anzac landings.

He is alleged to have incited another person to carry out an attack last month “with the aim of killing and/or causing serious injury to people,” and of inciting another person to behead someone.

The teenager was first detained on 2 April, but arrested again over the weekend.

Counter-terrorism officers in Australia arrested two teenagers on Saturday on suspicion of planning an attack at an Anzac Day ceremony in Melbourne, allegedly aiming to target police officers.

Australian police arrested five men in total during the operation.

The annual Anzac Day ceremonies - commemorating the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' First World War battle in Gallipoli on April 25 - take on extra significance this year as the centenary of the conflict in Turkey is marked.

The schoolboy is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Additional reporting by PA