A COLLEGE student has been praised for alerting police to alleged child offences committed against orphans in Africa and India.

The pupil, from Stonyhurst College, Hurst Green, was among five young people who raised concerns about the conduct of British man Duncan Grant at homeless shelters in Tanzania.

Grant, 61, from London, is now being investigated by Indian authorities over allegations of sexual offences against boys at shelters he had previously set up on the Indian sub-continent.

The British Jesuits, which run the Ribble Valley college, sent the youngsters to help at the Tanzanian shelters between October and January as part of the 2003/04 gap year. They have now severed all links with the Anchorage havens project.

Jonathan Hewit, spokesman for Stonyhurst College, said: "It's to the students' credit that those involved alerted the relevant authorities and didn't just ignore what they saw."

The students, in their late teens and early 20s, raised a series of concerns about alleged mistreatment, including sexual misconduct towards children. Allegations centred on claims that children at the shelters were subjected to sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

Their concerns were passed to the Serious Sex Offenders Unit of the National Criminal Intelligence Unit (NCIS), based in London, which monitors the activities of suspected paedophiles in the UK and abroad. A spokesman for the NCIS today confirmed that Indian police had also issued a 'red notice' - a request to detain, circulated through Interpol.

Ged Clapson, communications officer for British Jesuits, said: "This particular project in Tanzania was previously visited by our director of alumni programmes who saw no problems. We will not be sending anyone else there now, or in the future."