UPDATED: Islamic State militants threaten to kill Bolton convoy aid worker

Former taxi driver and married father-of-two Alan Henning travelled from Bolton to Syria in December last year.

The 47-year-old’s life is now in the hands of Islamic State (IS) jihadists who made the threats at the end of a video released on Saturday showing the barbaric killing of British hostage David Haines.

The video follows the executions of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

Mr Henning travelled from Bolton to Syria in December last year with eight other volunteers from Bolton alongside the UK Arab Society.

The father-of-two was based in Eccles and his sister Gill Kenyon lives in Bury.

Bolton aid worker and fellow volunteer Kasim Jameel, who travelled to Syria with Mr Henning, said: “Alan is an amazing guy. He is the best of the best. He is my best friend and I am praying for him.

“He loved the cause so much that when he went to Turkey on holiday with his family, he had a big tattoo across his arm saying ‘aid for Syria’ — he was that dedicated.

“The cause had literally changed his life around — it meant that much to him.”

Mr Henning was described as "passionate" and who "took that extra risk" to deliver aid.

He has helped on at least two convoys into Syria, where humanitarian volunteers drive supplies across the Turkish border into the war-torn country.

He helped load supplies into ambulances that were to be driven to Syria to help refugees.

His friend Mohamed Elhaddad, company director of the UK Arabic Society, tonight spoke of Mr Henning's determination to help others.

Mr Elhaddad, British convoy leader, described the hostage as a passionate humanitarian volunteer, but said he insisted on going a long way into Syria to deliver aid.

Mr Elhaddad said: "I remember going on two convoys with him, at the end of 2012 and in May 2013, and he was always very positive and very interested in the work.

"I have met his family and his children. The first time we went together he was very excited and very emotional. He does a lot for others.

"He is good at DIY and he was a useful person to have on the trips.

"But Alan went too far into Syria. He took that extra risk, because he could have accomplished the drop-off at the border.

"I disagree completely with what is happening to him. Alan is my friend, this is extremely sad for him and his family. It is a very sad situation."

Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi urged Bolton people not to travel to Syria, describing it as “incredibly dangerous” with “complete lawlessness”.

She said IS’s actions were “despicable and un-Islamic”.

Mr Henning, from Eccles, joined a convoy of 20 vehicles making the 4,000-mile journey to Syria on December 20 last year.

It is understood Mr Henning — who is married with two children — was kidnapped around Christmas time just after crossing into Syria from Turkey.

It is believed he was captured just 30 minutes after arriving in Syria.

His convoy set off from Great Lever to join others leaving the North West. It was transporting life-saving medical equipment to a hospital in Idlib, in north-western Syria.

Items sent included defibrillators, stethoscopes and oxygen.

Ms Qureshi said: “It is despicable what IS is doing, as well as being completely shocking and un-Islamic.

“I am shocked that someone local has been captured after simply trying to help the people of Syria.

“My heart goes out to the family of Mr Henning and obviously to the man himself.”

Catrin Nye, from the BBC's Asian Network, told the BBC News channel that she met Mr Henning in the UK while filming documentaries about British aid convoys to Syria.

She said: “He described the fact that he had been before. He had visited a refugee camp and had a really quite life-changing experience.

"It had really touched him and he said ever since he had got back things hadn't quite been the same and he felt a real desire to go again and to help the Syrian people."

Mr Henning had previously travelled to Syria in March 2013.

Volunteers from Bolton set off in two ex-NHS vehicles on March 17 last year to make the five-day journey to the Ad Dana hospital in Syria.

More than £20,000 had been raised by Boltonians for the purchase of the two ambulances.

The convoy was organised volunteers from Bolton alongside the UK Arab Society.

Volunteers drove to Dover to catch the ferry to Dunkirk, then drove to Bruge in Belgium, then through Luxembourg, France, Switzerland and Italy.

The fleet then took another 16-hour ferry journey to Greece before driving through Turkey and on into Syria.

The fleet of ambulances was bought from Blue Lights in Atherton, a company that sells and hires ex-NHS vehicles.

Defibrillators, stethoscopes and oxygen were on board the convoy.

Ms Qureshi added: “My advice is not to go out to Syria at all.

“It is an incredibly dangerous and unsafe place with complete lawlessness.

“There are other ways to help by fundraising and giving the money to reputable NGOs and charities.”

David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East, said: “The actions of IS are unforgivable and in no way reflect the aims and aspirations of Bolton Muslims.

“We as a county need to tackle the issue and threat to British people, either when they are in Syria or when they are at home.

“We need to defend ourselves against these kind of attacks.

“My advice to Bolton people regardless of which community they are from is to avoid going out to these areas at any time and certainly to avoid any contact with IS.”

Julie Hilling, MP for Bolton West, said: “We need to hope and pray for his safe return. What is happening in Syria and the Middle East is utterly deplorable and we need to find a way for people to live in peace and harmony.

“Bolton people should not be going out to the region, either as aid workers or as fighters in these very troubled times.”

Aid worker Mr Haines was captured in Syria in March last year.

In a statement, his brother said the father-of-two had been murdered “in cold blood”.

Prime Minister David Cameron hailed Mr Haines as a “British hero” and vowed to “hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice no matter how long it takes”.

Mr Cameron said IS — also known as ISIS and ISIL — were not Muslims but “monsters”.

He said the UK could not afford to ignore the severe threat the jihadists posed to both world and domestic security.

IS released the footage showing 44-year-old Mr Haines being murdered by a knife-wielding militant, who appeared to speak with a British accent.

The killing appeared to have been carried out by the same man responsible for the deaths of two American journalists held by the group.

At the end of the video, the jihadist made threats to kill Mr Henning, who was shown, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling in the sand.

Mike Haines said his brother, who previously served in the RAF and worked for the UN in the Balkans, was "just another bloke" who was "most alive and enthusiastic" in his humanitarian roles and will be "missed terribly".

Mr Cameron said the father-of-two was "murdered in the most callous and brutal way imaginable by an organisation which is the embodiment of evil".

He said: "David Haines was a British hero. The fact that an aid worker was taken, held and brutally murdered at the hands of IS sums up what this organisation stands for."