A SHEPPEY man who is fighting in the Gulf excitedly told his mother that he had spent a night in Saddam Hussein's palace when he phoned her last week.

Stephen Lassman, 19, flew out to the Middle East on March 5 with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, and Friday was the first time that his mother, Sue Lassman, had spoken to him since his departure.

Mrs Lassman, 39, from Sheerness works for Kent Home Improvements in Sheerness High Street and proudly displays the Union Jack outside her shop.

She said: "I was so relieved when he phoned, just to hear his voice was wonderful. He still doesn't know when he will be coming home because they are being moved on now, but at least I know he is well.

"He told me they had stayed in Saddam's palace in the centre of Baghdad, and sounded very excited about it." The palace had been captured by US forces and featured heavily in the news as a significant move in the fall of Saddam's regime.

Stephen hopes to be home before July, as that is when his wife is expecting their baby.

Meanwhile, Karina Chetwynd, whose husband is also out in the Gulf, has learnt that he won't be home until July at the earliest.

Graham Chetwynd, 26, is a Lieutenant with the 7th Armoured Brigade. But now that the fighting is over, his role has changed as a Royal Military policeman, which means that he will be actively involved in policing the city of Baghdad and protecting supply lines from looters.

Ms Chetwynd, who works as a solicitor in Sheppey, had a call from her husband two weeks ago. She said that he sounded better once she told him how much support the troops now had.

She said: "I don't think the soldiers had learnt how much support there is for them over here now, he certainly perked up when I told him. He said the support they have from the locals over there is fantastic."

She also said that her husband was angry with some of the coverage of the war over here, saying that the war was not to be blamed for the bad living conditions of the Iraqis.

He said that this is exactly how they had been living under Saddam's regime anyway, and that they are doing their best to change that.