Yvonne's mother Joyce Ridley: hoping for a call

Ms Ridley - who was captured 11 days ago after travelling from Pakistan into Afghanistan - was due to be transported to the border at sunrise on Monday.

The Taleban have said, that despite the missile strikes, they have escorted Ms Ridley - who now works for the Sunday Express - out of Kabul as planned.

Her family had voiced their concerns over the timing of the attacks.

They feared that the missile strikes had been launched before their daughter had a chance to leave the troubled region.

Her mother Joyce Ridley said: "She was coming home, my Yvonne was a free woman.

"The British Government said she was coming home.

Solitary confinement

"Why, then, could they not delay the bombing for a few hours? I just cannot accept that."

Mrs Ridley from West Pelton, County Durham, said: "With the start of the military action last night our anticipated joy immediately turned to dismay."

The 43-year-old mother-of-one was seized near the north-eastern city of Jalalabad on September 28 after travelling to the region with two local guides.

She was held in solitary confinement in a house for her first seven days in captivity before being moved to a prison in the Afghan capital Kabul.

After intensive diplomatic efforts, the Taleban authorities announced she would be released.

The UK Foreign Office had warned the Taleban they are responsible for Ms Ridley's safety.

Hopeful

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "They have the power to release her - she is in their hands."

A spokesman for Express Newspapers said her colleagues remained hopeful she would be freed despite the latest developments.

He said: "Everyone at the Express, as well as Yvonne's family, is praying that she will be home soon.

"In the meantime the company is doing everything it can to help diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to bring about Yvonne's release."

According to the Sunday Express, Ms Ridley, an experienced reporter who has worked for several other national newspapers, had entered the country to cover the humanitarian crisis there.