The mother of journalist Yvonne Ridley, who was captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan, was today waiting for firm news of her daughter's plight.

Joyce Ridley is hoping for official word on the 43-year-old mother-of-one's situation after confusing reports from Afghanistan where she was captured last week.

The 73-year-old pensioner from West Pelton, County Durham, was told yesterday that aid workers had seen her daughter, a former reporter with The Northern Echo, living in relative comfort with regular meals and access to a courtyard at a house in Jalalabad.

The revelation believed to be the first reports of her daughter's surroundings had given Mrs Ridley hope.

But she has since had word that the information may not be 100% accurate.

Mrs Ridley said: ''I am totally confused and I just don't believe anything I hear now because it is contradicted so often all the messages you get, you build yourself up then you drop down.

''You just get to the point where you question what is the truth and what isn't.

''We had word last night that the Red Cross said that she was fine, they had seen her but they hadn't spoken to her.

''I have since had word that this might not be true because I was told that Red Cross workers are supposed to have English as a second language.

''I am trying to phone the Red Cross to see if their workers did see Yvonne and I am ringing the Foreign Office to ask them to investigate the matter.''

The Red Cross today said that expatriate staff had pulled out of Afghanistan but local aid workers may have sent word of the Sunday Express reporter.

A spokeswoman said: ''The international committee of the Red Cross had to evacuate all its expat staff from Afghanistan last week. They do still have local aid staff.''

Yvonne Ridley's decision to cross the Afghanistan border was today supported by the Women in Journalism group which has written both to Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Sunday Express proprietor Richard Desmond offering its resources to help with any legal moves to bring her back.

Rebekah Wade, chair of the group, said: ''Yvonne Ridley has been extremely brave to venture into Afghanistan in pursuit of a story of global importance.

''She will have known how difficult it is for a woman to operate as a reporter in a regime controlled by the Taliban and we feel sure that she will not have meant to commit an offence to their culture.

''We sincerely hope that all diplomatic efforts will be made on her behalf to secure her immediate release.''