British hostage Norman Kember said today: "It's great to be free."

Speaking after he and two peace activist colleagues were released in Iraq, he added: "I am looking forward to getting back to the UK."

Special forces freed the 74-year-old peace activist and his colleagues early today, ending their 118-day ordeal.

The US military in Baghdad said the breakthrough came after information was received from detainees captured yesterday.

The three were tied up when they were found in western Baghdad. But there was no sign of the kidnappers and no shots were fired during the operation.

Mr Kember, 74, was in "reasonable condition" and was recovering at the British embassy in the high security Green Zone in Baghdad.

His two younger Canadian colleagues needed hospital treatment but Mr Kember was said to have been unharmed in the operation, during which no shots were fired.

His brother Ian Kember said: "This has been the news we have been waiting for for a long time."

See Friday's Birmingham Post for more on this story