THE family of former Advertiser journalist Yvonne Ridley were praying for good news this week as Foreign Office delegations made contact with the Taliban to try to secure her release.

The 43-year-old Sunday Express reporter was arrested by the Afghanistan regime and accused of spying. She was reportedly wearing local dress and was without papers.

Ms Ridley's mother and father, from West Pelton, near Stanley, postponed their granddaughter Daisy's ninth birthday celebrations on Wednesday until her mother comes home.

The reporter had been writing from the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and Islamabad. She entered Afghanistan last week and was arrested about 40 miles from the eastern city of Jalalabad last Friday.

The British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Hilary Synnott met with Taliban representatives on Tuesday to try to free the former Stanley News and Northern Echo journalist.

Her daughter Daisy, who spent her birthday at her Lake District boarding school, wrote to Tony Blair asking him to intervene.

Her letter read: "I am writing to you because my mummy is Yvonne Ridley and I want her home for my birthday...I miss my mummy very much and will only be happy when she's back home."

Her grandmother, Joyce Ridley, 74, said Daisy was not aware of the extent of the danger her mother was in.

''When Yvonne comes home Daisy will have her official birthday. We will have a big party then. The school thinks she should just have a normal day, perhaps she can open a few presents tonight.''

Mrs Ridly was confident her daughter would return and was sure her strength of character would see her through.

She said: "We are remaining positive. We have to. I always used to talk to Yvonne about being taken hostage. But she would reply: 'If anyone takes me, they'll soon drop me.'"

Mrs Ridley and her husband, Allan, 77, admitted the strain of waiting for news was terrible.

She said: "It's not easy, I'm just like a zombie. When I keep quiet, I get more worried."

The irony of having a journalist daughter and then having to cope with the media was not lost on the Ridleys.

"They were outside the house but I couldn't bring myself to talk to them," said Mrs Ridley, a retired university lecturer.

"Then I thought Yvonne would have been standing outside too. She used to tell us about how she had stood outside other people's homes as part of her job.

"So I decided to talk to them so they would go away.

"With Yvonne being a journalist the reporters were very sympathetic, supportive and anxious to help, because she is one of their colleagues."

The father of Daisy and former partner of Yvonne, Daoud Zaaroura, 54, who is chief executive of the North of England Refugee Service, also told of his fears.

He said: "Yvonne is a journalist of great integrity and courage who shows no fear in the pursuit

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