Alan Henning's daughter: I found out my father had been beheaded on Instagram

The teenage daughter of British beheading victim Alan Henning has said she found out he had been murdered by seeing graphic photos of it on Instagram.

Lucy Henning, 18, said she had held out hope that her father would be released by the so-called Islamic State until she came across the gruesome images on the social network.

Her father, a 47-year-old taxi driver from Salford, travelled to Syria to help deliver aid after being moved by the plight of orphaned children in the country, which has been ravaged by civil war for four years.

Barbara Henning (left), with her children Adam and Lucy during a service at the British Muslim Heritage Centre in Manchester. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Archive/PA Images

He was kidnapped in December 2013 after crossing into Turkey and held hostage for 10 months.

Despite worldwide appeals for mercy, a video released by the jihadist group in October last year showed him kneeling in an orange jumpsuit as he was beheaded.

Speaking on an episode of ITV's The Jeremy Kyle Show set to be broadcast on Thursday, she said: "I remember thinking we have had a few days, no news, it's looking good. We thought they might actually let him go."

"Then I remember I was just laying in bed on Instagram and er, I just saw the final picture. It was the final picture, after the execution," she said.

Lucy Henning (right) with mother Barbara (right centre), with the brother and daughter of fellow beheading victim David Haines. Credit: Andy Kelvin/PA Archive/PA Images

Miss Henning said she is still trying to come to terms with her father's brutal murder, adding of the militant group: "I try not to think about them.

"I think I'm still numb. I just try and get everyone to remember like, the kids that are still there, when people say, 'Oh you've lost your dad,' Yeah I know but there's kids there that's lost, lose all their family in one day and they are stuck there on their own."

The murder prompted an outpouring of sympathy across the UK and the rest of the world. Credit: Peter Byrne/PA Archive/PA Images

She added that she is planning to visit the region in memory of her father, and wants to do voluntary work herself in Africa.

Since Mr Henning's death, a charitable foundation, the Alan Henning Academy, has been set up in his name to help children affected by the Syrian war.

"It's schooling around 400 pupils at the moment, getting them the education they need, so I would like to go and visit," she added.