ELAINE West blade is home safe after three months as a human shield in the Middle East.

The Monmouthshire 27-year-old stayed for a time at Palestinian president Yasser Arafat's crumbling headquarters in Ramallah in the West Bank.

She and other international campaigners later moved to the Palestinian refugee camp of Nablus, acting as human shields for the Palestinians. The group placed themselves between Israeli forces and Palestinian refugees.

Elaine, of Llandewi Skirrid, near Abergavenny, who was orphaned at 15, is now back home with aunt and uncle Vicky and Kit Thomas.

Ms Westblade said: "When major news breaks over there it reminds me how difficult it was to leave.

"We left behind friends, in particular a Palestinian family I stayed with for more than a month.

"In exercising my privilege to come home I felt sorry, worried, even slightly guilty."

Elaine, who works with the homeless, intends to go back to the Middle East eventually.

She said: "I think it's healthy to take a break but it has been hard. "There have been two suicide bombings in Tel Aviv since I've been back." Mr Thomas said his niece was still "numb" from the trip.

"It's a process of repair. Elaine is tough. "We've not asked too many questions. It's been a lovely relief to have her back with us. One of those bullets could easily have finished her off."