A teenager who attempted to travel to Syria to fight for Islamic State has been found guilty of terror offences.

Ednane Mahmood, 19, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was convicted by a jury of attempting to travel to Syria to commit acts of terrorism.

The university student was also found guilty of two counts of providing others with internet links to speeches and propaganda and at the time of doing so was reckless as whether his conduct would be a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The trial at Manchester Crown Court heard that Mahmood had downloaded videos showing British aid worker David Haines being beheaded, before fleeing from his home during the early hours to travel to Syria on September 18 last year.

He boarded a flight from Manchester Airport to Bulgaria with little money and few possessions, leaving a letter addressed, "To Family" stating his intentions.

But the court was to hear that he never got to Syria, and on September 20, from an Internet cafe, he was in Twitter communication with his brother who persuaded him to come back to the UK.

The court was told that the teenager's interest in Syria, Jihad and Isis developed over time from 2012 and in the the month before his departure his internet searches became "increasingly acute".

The court heard that his family had been unaware of his intentions and on the day that he fled had reported him missing to police.

Mahmood, who had been studying Arabic, told officers that he had been upset by the conflict and news coverage and had wanted to help.

He had claimed he became "stranded" on the Turkey side of the border, alone, upset and running out of money.

He will be sentenced on December 11 at Manchester Crown Court.

Speaking after the case, Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Mole of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit said that he was pleased with the conviction.

He added: "The message I can give is very clear: Isis are a terrorist organisation.

"The propaganda that this organisation puts out can be quite seductive. He was distributing material to other people who could be influenced.

"It's been a very positive investigation. We take people trying to travel to Syria very seriously. We will take action against you."

He added that it was important for members of the public to report people who are showing signs of extremism.

"His family did the right thing and persuaded him to come back. The family may well have saved people's lives - who is to say what he was actually going to get involved in when he joined the organisation."