A Bradford Para is giving youngsters in Baildon an eye-witness account of the hard-hitting reality of life in post-war Iraq.

James Kitson, serving with 1 Para Mortars Platoon, a support company for the SAS, regularly writes detailed letters to pupils at Salt Grammar School from his camp in El-Almara, ten miles outside the capital Baghdad.

And during the past couple of months the school has filled 50 shoe boxes with goodies, including sweets, toiletries, mosquito repellent, sauces and copies of the Telegraph & Argus to send to the troops.

James's mum, Helen Wilson, a food technology and health and social care teacher at the Coach Road school, said she was "extremely proud" of her 22-year-old son.

"Saying goodbye to him at Leeds railway station was the hardest thing in the world but he walked off with his head held high," said Mrs Wilson, of Queensbury.

Since flying out to the Gulf in February James has only been able to telephone his mother twice - the last call came on Wednesday.

"He can't tell me exact details about what he's doing because he's working closely with the SAS but the conditions sound awful," said the 47-year-old. She said the temperatures were above 100F, the soldiers were covered in mosquito bites and had no electricity or clean water.

"He said the smell is awful because of the lack of water, yet they still have uniform checks and they're expected to look clean," said Mrs Wilson.

"The boys are having to throw their socks away because they can't wash them. And all the time James has been out there he hasn't had a bed to sleep in."

Mrs Wilson said the pupils wrote often to the soldiers and kept them informed about events in Bradford and at the school.

"It has given the children a greater understanding of the war and James's letters are also being used as examples of letter-writing in English classes," said Mrs Wilson.