A PEACE activist has made a safe return after spending six months in war-ravaged Iraq.

Jo Wilding, who returned to England on Friday, said the nicest thing about being back was to be able to walk down a street and not be noticed.

In a fleeting visit she saw her mother Anne Wilding, of Talavera Road, Norton, near Worcester, before she jets off to the US today.

During her stay in Iraq she survived a dramatic kidnap ordeal.

In April, she was caught in crossfire between the Americans and the Muhjahedeem while trying to leave Fallujah.

She was kidnapped by the resistance movement and held captive for 24 hours before being taken back to Baghdad.

"They were really good to us, they fed us and told us to not to worry," she said.

"One of my colleagues was sick and lying on the floor when one of them tucked a pillow under her head and put a blanket over her."

The law student will spend a month touring the US, from LA to Vancouver to speak about her experiences.

She conveyed the plight of thousands of Iraqis who she said were starving, homeless and unemployed.

"Media representation in the US is appalling and people don't know what's going on," said the 29-year-old.

"People don't have much concept of what's happening to Iraqis.

"With the elections coming up I think it's important they know what this Government has been doing before they decide on the next.

"Part of the reason I went to Iraq was to tell people back home what was happening.

"When I went to Fallujah I was shot at in an ambulance by US snipers.

"The Pentagon issued a statement saying it didn't happen, I think it's important that they know it's happened and hear it from me."

"The projects that I did were very positive but there is so much needed, all the time you are there you feel that whatever you do is not enough."

Miss Wilding, who has documented the horrors of the war on her web-site, took time out of her law studies to travel to Iraq with the Circus 2 Iraq to perform for local children.

She then worked on a project called Twinning Links to make connections with Iraqi doctors and teachers.

They helped them to establish links with British doctors and teachers who could offer practical advice and help raise funds for the rehabilitation of services.

To view her story visit www.wildfirejo.org