A new report has found that religious extremism and strong anti-immigrant sentiments are rife across Hounslow in south-west London.

The Sharing the Future study, published last week, was commissioned by Hounslow Council following reports of the borough's young people being involved in extremist or far right activities.

It became clear that something needed to be done when in 2003, 21-year-old Asif Hanif from Hounslow, became Britain's first suicide bomber.

A rise in the popularity of the British National Party in local elections was also a contributing factor.

Leader of Hounslow Council, Councillor Peter Thompson, said: "We wanted to take a step back and have an accurate look at the situation before moving forward.

"It was a brave thing to do because all is not well in Hounslow.

"Many of us are attracted to Hounslow because of its diversity. There is more that unites us than divides us in Hounslow and we need to highlight these common strengths and make sure everyone knows that this is their borough, their community and their home."

The Institute of Community Cohesion, headed by Professor Ted Cantle, a leading expert on disturbances in polarised communities, carried out the study.

Prof Cantle and his team set out to find the underlying causes of youth disengagement from mainstream society and their tendency to turn to extremist groups.

The report was released just 24 hours after the missing UK terror suspect was identified as 26-year-old Zeeshan Siddique, from Hounslow.

He trained with a London suicide bomber in Pakistan.

Two hundred young people from every community across the borough were interviewed for the report, which focused on central Hounslow, Heston and Cranford as areas that show high levels of deprivation and race hate crime.

Some people the institute talked to said they had seen evidence of religious extremism.

However, focus groups found that far right extremism, in the form of racist attitudes and strong anti-immigrant feelings, was more of a problem in Hounslow.

Foreign policy and anti-terror laws were cited by many as key factors in increased radicalism among Muslim communities.

The report's findings will be combined with reports from the West Area Study, which highlighted an increasingly exclusive white community in the area.

Hounslow Council will now use the report's findings to come up with an action plan for schools, police and other community members of the Local Strategic Partnership, to be launched by December this year.

Coun Thompson added: "This is not a problem we can deal with in isolation.

"It is up to all of us to help our young people to create a better future."