A SHEPPEY solicitor is waiting for news about her husband who is serving with British Army in Iraq.

Karina Chetwynd, who works at John Copland & Son in Sheerness High Street, says her husband Graham, 26, a lieutenant with the 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, was at Basra, Iraq’s second largest city.

Ms Chetwynd stressed: "I'm concerned about him. I haven’t heard from him since the war started."

Latest reports say the 7th Armoured Brigade was involved in nearly a dozen artillery engagements on the outskirts of Basra on Monday, targeting Iraqi mortars and tanks.

Although Lieut Chetwynd’s official posting is in Germany, the couple have a home on Sheppey. Ms Chetwynd said that as an officer’s wife she was happy to support and advise the families and loved ones of any Army personnel serving in the war. She can be reached at her office on 01795 664431.

The British military says Basra, which had been the subject of unexpectedly intense ground fighting, had become a military target in order to get humanitarian aid to its people.