The eight-year-old daughter of former Northern Echo journalist Yvonne Ridley, who is being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, has returned to boarding school.

Joyce and Allan Ridley, of Beamish, near Stanley, have been looking after their granddaughter Daisy after her mother was arrested when she entered Afghanistan illegally last week.

Daisy, who is nine on Wednesday, has been gently told about her mother's 'adventure,' while staying at the Ridley's detached home.

The Afghan Islamic Press says the Taliban have sent a special team to the eastern city of Jalalabad to determine whether the 43-year-old is a journalist or not.

If her credentials as a reporter can be verified it is thought she may be released.