Four British girls and their teacher were sexually assaulted at gunpoint on a school trip to Ghana.

The terrified victims were attacked in their hostel-style accommodation by a man with a rifle while on a volunteering trip to the West African country.

It is believed a Ghanaian security guard was shot and seriously injured after trying to stop the sickening attack on Saturday night.

The pupils, aged 16 and 17, flew to Ghana on the trip that was meant to give them the “opportunity to experience life in a developing country”.

The girls and their teacher, who cannot be named, were understood to be recovering from their traumatic ordeal in a British hospital on Sunday night.

They landed back in the UK in the early hours of Sunday morning.

They were part of a larger group of ten schoolchildren who paid £1,200 each for the trip.

The school, which also cannot be named, partners a West African volunteering charity that supports disadvantaged Ghanaian children.

Pupils stayed in guesthouses within a “secure walled” compound and gardens a few minutes’ walk from a local beach. The dormitory-style rooms house up to six guests at a time.

A Ghanaian caretaker and private security team also live on the site in a separate staff block.