A 95-YEAR-OLD Holocaust survivor shared her experiences at an extremism summit.

Iby Knill was imprisoned in Auschwitz Birkenau in 1944 and was among special guests addressing a conference to increase understanding and help prevent extremism.

The 'Extremism Summit' was held at Blackburn's town hall and welcomed by Iby, author of 'The Woman Without a Number' and British empire medal holder.

She spoke to the audience of the horrors of the Holocaust and discussed the dangers of radicalisation and said that we should learn from the mistakes of the past to ensure it does not happen again.

Bravely recounting her experiences, Iby speaks in schools across the country to help people understand how destructive the spread of intolerance and prejudice of an ethnic group can be.

She said: "Unless we can teach people to understand each other, to tolerate and respect the differences, there really is no future for mankind."

The event was hosted by Blackburn with Darwen Council’s community safety team and had a particular focus on far right extremism, addressing recent developments and activity across the country.

It also attended by professionals from across Lancashire including the NHS, local authorities, prison and probation services and counter terrorism police.

The audience also heard from experts including professor Matthew Feldman and Leicester’s prevent coordinator Sean Arbuthnot .

They spoke of the current national picture of the far right and the role of front line staff and the public in preventing extremism from occurring in communities.

Cllr Shaukat Hussain, borough executive member of neighbourhood and prevention services, said: "It was extremely powerful to hear from the speakers who are working to transform lives and ultimately protect communities.

"We all have a role to play in making sure that we share and learn from past experiences. We need to do what we can to prevent people, from any section of the community, from being drawn into extremism and radicalisation."

The council’s prevent team oversees and delivers a number of initiatives aimed at a cross section of society to address all forms of extremism.

This includes working with education establishments, faith communities, third sector organisations and statutory partners delivering training, outreach and engagement activities.