THE mother of freed Iraq hostage Peter Moore today opened her heart to The Gazette and admitted: "I cannot believe he is coming home."
Thornton mum Avril Sweeney cried tears of joy when the Foreign Office called out of the blue to tell her the words she had waited three long years to hear – "your son is safe".
Mr Moore, 36, who was kidnapped with four other men in 2007, was today in the care of the British Embassy in Iraq.
Mrs Sweeney, of Fairhomes Way, said: "I just can't believe Peter is alive, well, and coming home. I've got the only wish I wanted in the world."
Reports today in Baghdad said Mr Moore's first words on his arrival at the British Embassy were: "Thank God. You are the first British faces I've seen for years.
"I think I'm going to cry."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I'm hugely relieved by the wonderful news that Peter has been freed.
"At this moment of celebration, we also remember the families of British hostages who have been killed in Iraq and elsewhere."
Mr Moore is expected to fly home to be reunited with his family and friends in the next few days.
FOR A FULL INTERVIEW AND MORE ON THIS STORY SEE THURSDAY'S GAZETTE.
