SIR – Regarding the two 17-year-old lads from Dewsbury who have recently gone to Turkey, here are my thoughts: Of course the parents believed they were going on a school trip to Turkey!

Did they see the letter from school asking them if they would like their sons to go on a school trip to Turkey? Did they pay for their sons to go on a school trip to Turkey? Did they ask any other parent if they were sending their children on a school trip to Turkey?

These parents need to take responsibility for their children, not just showing them how to be potty trained or how to cross the road.

If they have any doubts as to what their children tell them, they should investigate further.

If my children had told me they were ‘just going on a school trip to Turkey’ I’d be asking questions until the cows come home – or at least I’d check with the school.

As for the police saying it’s “nearly impossible to know your children have been groomed or brainwashed” – that’s a cop-out. With today’s threats (either real or imagined) parents should be more vigilant.

Rita Robertshaw, Allerton, Bradford