A BRITISH aid worker freed after being held captive for nine months by the Taliban has spoken of his joy at being reunited with his wife.

Kevin Cornwell, 54, was detained by secret police in Afghanistan after they raided his hotel room.

He was thrown in a cell for three months where other inmates tried to radicalise him — and was held for 272 days in total.

Kevin said of the moment he hugged wife Kelly, who had been campaigning for his release: “It was probably the best moment I have had in my life besides seeing my children being born. I couldn’t speak for a couple of minutes. I didn’t have the words.”

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The former soldier, from Middlesbrough, was working for the UN Refugee Agency when he was arrested for possessing a gun, even though he had a certificate for the pistol which was in his safe for emergency use.

While in captivity, he suffered bouts of sepsis and developed kidney stones.

Kevin — who served in the military for almost 25 years, including 12 years in the Royal Army Medical Corps — was finally released last month along with extreme tourist Miles Routledge, 23, of Birmingham, and two other men who were also being held.

His wife thanked the Press for helping her increase pressure on the UK Government and Taliban to release him.

Kelly said: “I don’t think he would be home now if that pressure hadn’t been added and if I hadn’t taken it to the Press in the first place.”

Kevin added: “I won’t be going back to Afghanistan.”