It's not every day that you wake up to one of those ominous "unconfirmed reports", later receive the substantiation you have been dreading and go to bed satisfied that you may have helped to save a member's life but fast action from the NUJ has led to just such a welcome conclusion to a troubling scenario.

Early on Friday morning the news came through that NUJ member, James Brandon, was abducted from a Basra hotel, in Iraq.

At 12.33pm, the union issued a statement demanding that all relevant parties do their utmost to ensure that James be freed.

Deputy General Secretary, John Fray, revealed that the NUJ had already approached the UK government (who are responsible for security in the area) as well as "appealing to the likely kidnappers, seeking contacts through other journalists in the country".

Eight minutes short of four hours later, the NUJ was able to announce that James had been freed after Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr personally intervened.

In the background, the NUJ had contacted various parties in Iraq, particularly Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions (IFTU).

IFTU's UK representative, Abdullah Muhsin, facilitated contact with representatives in Baghdad and Basra while the union was also in touch with journalists in Iraq.

John Fray, said: "As soon as we heard of the kidnap we tried every avenue we could think of. It's really gratifying that James has been freed and that our efforts may have contributed to that.

"Journalists are always in danger in war zones. More than 40 have lost their lives in Iraq since last year's invasion. They have to be near the front line to do their job, and their safety is our highest concern.

"We try to ensure that all journalists who go to war zones have specialised training and the proper support of their organisations, and James Brandon is an experienced reporter. But there is nothing you can do when 30 men with machine guns burst into your hotel room."

James, who was photgraphed with what appeared to be a badly-bruised face thanked his captors for releasing him and said that he had been treated well during his captivity.