British mother who travelled to Isis-controlled Syria with toddler son 'flees to Turkey after realising her mistake'

Fighters tried to force Tareena Shakil to marry, according to reports

Isis fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province (Reuters)

A British woman who was feared to have travelled to Syria to join Isis with her toddler son is believed to have fled across the border to Turkey after realising her mistake.

Tareena Shakil, 25, is reported to have fled to Turkey after begging Turkish border guards for her life, according to The Sun newspaper.

The woman reportedly told her family she was going on holiday to Spain before leaving for Isis stronghold of Raqqa, located on the north bank of the river Euphrates in northern Syria.

Ms Shakil, who lived in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, is now reportedly being held for questioning at the Turkish immigration detention centre in the border city of Gaziantep.

An attempt to force her to marry an Isis fighter is reported to have promoted her change of heart.

"It's a miracle she escaped alive. Tareena realised when she got to Syria she had been a victim of false propaganda from IS,” the woman’s father, Mohammed Shakil, who lives in Burton-on-Trent, is reported to have told The Sun newspaper

"She hoped to escape to an idyllic lifestyle. Instead she found a living hell."

Ms Shakil is reported by a number of newspapers to have been a fan of the reality television show The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE).

Ms Shakil’s father reported the woman missing to Staffordshire Police in late October. The case has since been passed to West Midlands Police.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said: “A 25-year-old woman from Sparkbrook was reported missing by a member of her family on October 24.

“We have since been working to establish the woman’s whereabouts and that she is safe and well.”

A Home Office spokesperson said all people returning for Syria and Iraq were dealt with on a case-by-case basis.