FORMER Tavistock College pupil Jenna Sanders is working in Baghdad with an international news-gathering agency.

Jenna ?the daughter of former Tavistock mayor and town councillor Ken Sanders ?is staying at the hotel which was fired on by American troops last week.

Ken said Jenna arrived at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, which has been used by journalists of all nationalities, last Thursday, a few days after the firing incident.

She had been in the capital for three months before Christmas but had then been sent to Jerusalem and Amman.

The return journey across the desert to Baghdad was ?rather hairy?, he said. She was with some Americans and they had to jump into a ditch when firing started.

?She is on her mobile every second day to tell us how things are going and telling us not to worry,? said Ken. In a conversation with her mother Jenny on Sunday night Jenna, 30, said it was ?not as bad as it sounds?.

?There is some firing, but it is not heavy, and the looting is dying down. Things are beginning to get back to normal,? Jenna said.

Ken said he thought she was perfectly capable of looking after herself.

?She is very sensible. Going across the desert one chap was having hysterics, and she calmed him down.?

Jenna is responsible for the technical side of the news reporting by the Associated Press Television Network, setting up the equipment for recording.

She joined the industry after leaving college with a degree in Spanish and drama. Ken said her ability to speak Spanish had meant she had been sent on some interesting assignments.

?She watched Pinochet come back, Nixon in Cuba, and the Pope in Guatemala,? he said. She is now learning Arabic, as the Middle East is the important place to be at the moment.

Ken said he did not know how long Jenna would be in Iraq, but equated the risks to leaving home, crossing the road and getting knocked down.

Ken?s wife Jenny said Jenna said they had had to spend the night in their armoured car in the desert on their journey to Baghdad, wearing flack jackets, as the Jordanians had closed the border. ?It was most uncomfortable,? she said.

?It?s quite an exciting experience, but I told her I hoped her guardian angel was looking after her,? said Jenny.

Jenna went to Whitchurch School then Tavistock College. In the early 90s she was the singer in Tavistock group the Desired.