A former Folkestone schoolgirl who reported from inside the US Capitol during 2020's riot has since travelled to Ukraine to cover the war.

Sophie Alexander travelled to the conflict-stricken country to report from the frontlines only a year on from being at the centre of one of the most controversial moments in western political history.

She was part of the ITV News team that covered the shocking scenes as a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress during the certification of election ballots on January 6, 2021.

She joined correspondent Robert Moore and cameraman Mark Davey in being the only news team in the world to follow the rioters into the building, providing an eyewitness account of the historic and devastating scenes.

Ms Alexander – who told KentOnline of her experiences firsthand – would later find herself mixing with the glitterati as she and her team received a BAFTA for the first-class coverage.

“It was absolutely a career high so far – I don’t want to say it’s once-in-a-lifetime as obviously you always hope to win it again,” she explained.

“It really is the big one. I can’t really remember much, I just remember running up to the stage with the team to collect it.

“When we got back stage and they handed me mine, Ant and Dec came past and we clinked trophies – it was surreal, I felt like a celebrity for an evening!”

The surreal moment came just nine years into an extremely promising career.

“I worked with the Daily Star for four years, then another four years with ITV, so I am into my ninth year in journalism now,” she explained.

“Getting the nomination itself was fantastic, it recognised the hard work that my team and I carried out that day and afterwards.

“For this to happen in the first years of my career is incredible and unexpected. At the same time, there are far more journalists doing far more than me.”

Now 32, the award-winning journalist is an International Affairs producer for Sky News, and has swapped her BAFTA for a bulletproof vest while joining frontline coverage of the Ukraine war.

“It was an offer I couldn’t refuse really, it is foreign news which is always what I have wanted to do,” she explained.

“I have been in Ukraine four times. I’ve been in Kyiv, as well as the West, East and North of the country.”

As the conflict is ongoing, the East of Ukraine has been hit the hardest as Russian invading forces attempt to cut off strategic towns.

Ms Alexander and her teams have seen devastation including destroyed bridges and tanks, ruined buildings and unexploded missiles.

Despite the risks of reporting from a warzone, she said that showing viewers what was happening to the country was important.

“The capitol feels like a very long time ago – it was the last tint of my time in DC, and we were due to leave at the end of January,” she said.

“I have been for several weeks at a time, but I am not sure when I will be going back,”

“It is scary, but you have to get on with it – getting the truth out there and showing people what is going on is more important.”