Teacher James Furlong has been named locally as one of the three victims of the Reading terror attack.

Mr Furlong was head of history, government and politics at The Holt School in Wokingham, and died during the incident, which took place at 7pm on Saturday in Forbury Gardens, in the town centre.

A letter from the school, which has been shared online, describes Mr Furlong as a "kind and gentle man" who had a "real sense of duty and cared for each and every one of our students".

It continues: "He truly inspired everyone he taught through his passion for his subject and his dedication. He was determined that our students would develop a critical awareness of global issues and in doing so become active citizens and have a voice."

The letter, written by co-headteachers Anne Kennedy and Katie Pearce, said lessons for tomorrow have been cancelled for all year groups, and counsellors will be onsite for students wishing to come to school and talk.

The local church will also be opened from 9am for people to go and light a candle in his memory.

Former pupils have paid tribute to the "inspirational" teacher, describing him as "the best".

Jade Simon, a pupil at The Holt from 2012-2017, told the PA news agency: "He really was an incredible teacher.

"He was funny and kind and always made history fun and entertaining. History was always one of my favourite subjects and Mr Furlong always encouraged it."

Keith Power, whose daughter attends the school, said: "He was a wonderful man. He was so helpful and supportive of my daughter. He had a real passion for history and teaching and was so caring of his pupils.

"It's so senseless. So much hatred in the world right now. I fear for my kid's futures."

Responding to the news, Wokingham Labour tweeted: "Devastated to discover that James Furlong, one of the victims of the Reading stabbings, was a teacher at the Holt.

"His loss is a devastating blow to his family, colleagues, students, the wider Holt family and our whole community. Our thoughts are with them all."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has said he was "appalled and sickened" after police declared the murder of three people in a Reading park to be a terrorist attack.

The incident also left another three people injured.

A 25-year-old man from Reading was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and is currently in custody.

The suspect is a Libyan refugee understood to have been granted asylum in the UK and mental health is being considered a major factor in the incident, a security source told the PA news agency. He is understood to be named Khairi Saadallah.

The suspect was freed from prison for a non-terror offence towards the end of last year, the PA news agency understands. The sentence was said to have been in excess of 12 months.

Investigators have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.

Boris Johnson said he is "appalled and sickened" by the suspected terror attack and pledged "we will not hesitate to take action" if there are lessons to be learned.

Thames Valley Police said on Sunday morning the attack is now being treated as terrorism and that counter-terrorism police would now be taking over the investigation.

Chief Constable John Campbell, of Thames Valley Police, said: "Incidents of this nature are very rare, though I know that will be of little comfort to those involved and understand the concern that this incident will have caused amongst our local community.

"We will be working closely with our partners over the coming days and weeks to support the Reading community during this time, as well as with Counter-Terror Police South East (CTPSE) as they progress their investigation."

He asked the public to avoid the area and also to "avoid speculation" about the attack as he appealed for any video footage to be shared with police only.

"Out of respect for those deceased and injured, along with their loved ones, please do not circulate this footage on social media - this will be incredibly distressing."

Footage of the aftermath of the attack in which the victims were receiving first aid appeared online on Saturday evening.

The Prime Minister has held a meeting with security officials, police and senior ministers over the incident.

In an interview in Downing Street, Mr Johnson said he is "appalled and sickened that people should lose their lives in this way and our thoughts are very much with the family and the friends of the victims today".

"I've obviously talked to the chief constable at Thames Valley Police, thanked him and his officers for their bravery in tackling the suspect.

"We now have someone in custody. The police must get on with their job, get to the bottom of exactly what happened, and so it would be difficult really to comment in detail.

"Except to say this, if there are lessons we need to learn about how we handle such cases, how we handle the events leading up to such cases, then we will learn those lessons and we will not hesitate to take action where necessary."

The head of counter terrorism policing, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the motivation for the killings are "far from certain".

Speaking in London, he said: "Although the motivation for this horrific act is far from certain, counter-terrorism policing have taken responsibility for leading the investigation."

He emphasised that the attack was not associated "in any way" with the Black Lives Matter protests that had taken place in the park earlier that day.