THE wife-to-be of a Bewdley soldier in the thick of the action in the Gulf has spoken about the agony of her last moments of contact with her fiance.

Jane Brockway last talked to Irish Guardsman Peter Wilson on March 16 when he called from Kuwait, on what was to be the eve of war, to tell her the phones were being cut off.

The unexpected news was the last she heard from L Cpl Wilson, 34, who is now believed to be involved in the ferocious battle for Basra.

Miss Brockway said: "I was not expecting for them to take the phones away and so it was very upsetting knowing this would be the last chance I would get to speak to him for a long time. Peter Wilson, who was brought up in Wribbenhall.

"I received a letter last week but it was written from around the same time I got the call.

"Since then I have heard nothing. I am trying to get as much information as I can by watching the news, hoping I will catch a glimpse of him."

Miss Brockway, 29, who lives in London, added: "The days are very tough. Some days you can shut it off and other days it is all you think about.

"It is the lack of contact which is so distressing."

The two met in 2001 and had been going out for six months when Peter, who has been in the for 12 years, popped the question during a romantic New Year's Eve on the slopes of Ben Nevis.

Since that "beautiful" evening Jane said she spent as much time with Peter, who grew up in Wribbenhall, as possible war loomed, ending in a tearful goodbye at Hanover Airport in Germany on February 23.

She said: "It was very upsetting and traumatic. There was a part of me which thought he wouldn't go. I could handle him being in Germany but knowing he was going to Kuwait was a different matter.

"I just want him home."

Peter's mother Pat Wilson says she is now more worried for her son than during any other conflict he has served in.

While his fiance remains glued to the television, Mrs Wilson said she has had to ration how much news coverage she watches to stem the worry for her son, who, during time in the guards has spent time in Kosovo and Northern Ireland.

Mrs Wilson, who works at the Forever Christmas shop in Bewdley, said: "I will never get accustomed to him going away but I certainly coped better when he was in the other places.

"My daughter is rationing the amount of coverage I watch on television about the conflict. I watch it first thing in the morning and then at 6 o'clock at night.

"It is frustrating not knowing what is going on and you cannot help but look at the images you see to try and find Peter. You also look for re-assurance through the lack of contact from Peter himself or through the forces - you think no news is good news."

Mrs Wilson said she last heard from Peter, affectionately known as "Wibble" by his fellow soldiers, via a letter written on St Patrick's Day.

"He said he was ready to go and to pass on his love to everyone back here in Bewdley.

"He regards it as his job. This is what he has been trained to do but he has said how he would rather be a peacekeeper than a warrior.

"He wants it to be over with as soon as possible and to make it a safe place for the people of Iraq."