A 10-year-old Muslim boy was questioned by police after mistakenly writing he lived in a "terrorist house".

The primary school pupil from Lancashire meant to write "terraced house" but his teachers reported him to police on suspicion of terrorism. Police interviewed the child the following day and examined the family laptop for evidence of extremism.

The boy's family said they were left shocked by the incident and asked both the school and the police to apologise. One member of the family said she initially thought it was a "joke".

"You can imagine it happening to a 30-year-old man, but not to a young child," she told the BBC. "If the teacher had any concerns it should have been about his spelling.

"They shouldn't be putting a child through this. He's now scared of writing, using his imagination."

Under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, schools and other public authorities must report any suspected terrorist behaviour. Critics of the law say it makes teachers nervous of using their common sense and leads to over-reactions.

The assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, the UK's largest umbrella group for Islamic organisations, said incidents such as this were "a natural consequence of the extension of the 'Prevent Duty'".

Miqdaad Versi told the BBC he was aware of dozens of similar cases from schools around the country.

"There are huge concerns that individuals going about their daily life are being seen through the lens of security and are being seen as potential terrorists rather than students," he said.

Lancashire Police said in a statement: "This was reported to the police but was dealt with by a joint visit by a PC from the division and social services, not by anyone from Prevent.

"There were not thought to be any areas for concern and no further action was required by any agency."