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A BRITISH Parachute Regiment officer trapped behind rebel lines in Sierra Leone for two months was saved by British helicopter gunships and heavily armed United Nations troops yesterday.  Major Andrew Harrison had been trapped with a battalion of Indian soldiers in a UN barracks in Kailahun, in the south-east corner of the African state, after the base was surrounded by the Revolutionary United Front.

 The Chinook helicopters came under fire during the rescue operation but no one in the aircraft was hurt. On the ground, fierce fighting broke out between RUF rebels and Nigerian, Indian and Ghanaian UN troops who advanced on Kailahun to free the 220 Indian troops and allow them to withdraw to the nearby UN base in Daru.

Rebels sustained "serious casualties" and two Indian peacekeepers received gun-shot wounds to the hand and thigh, said Major Arun Anthanarayan, a senior officer with the UN's peacekeeping force:

Initial reports had said Major Harrison was tortured but yesterday he said only that "we were [initially) maltreated" while being held captive. His family had publicly criticised the Government for not doing enough to secure his freedom.

Major Harrison's wife Caroline, on being told of his release, said: "We are absolutely delighted and relieved that Andrew and the others are safe. We are looking forward to resuming normal family life."

Last month she accused the Government of abandoning her husband to the rebel forces and had petitioned Parliament to take military action to get him out.

The rescue was launched in the early hours of yesterday morning after a distress signal was received from the barracks with a warning that food and medicines were critically low.

Major Harrison, 33, and 10 other United Nations observers were airlifted to Freetown, the capital.

The Ministry of Defence said that Major Harrison who had previously served in the Gulf conflict and Northem  Ireland, was "safe and well" and receiving medical treatment.

Speaking shortly after his arrival in Freetown, Major Harrison said: "It's great to be back. Our thoughts are with the [Indian] peacekeepers still travelling to Darn."

He is expected to return to Britain in the next few days and is to begin a new posting at Shrivenham Staff College, Oxfordshire, next month.

He had been held by rebels since the beginning of May after being seized while monitoring a weapons handover.

Three other Britons taken captive at the same time - Major Phil Ashby, Major Andrew Samsonoff and Lt-Cdr Paul Rowland - managed to escape by trekking through the jungle.

After 11 days in captivity, Major Harrison was handed over with the other monitors to the Indian battalion in Kailahun.

The Indian force was then itself surrounded by RUF guerrillas and none of the UN soldiers was allowed to move out of the compound.

Hirut Befecadu, the UN spokesman in Freetown, said that for a fortnight the RUF had refused to allow the UN to get food supplies to the stranded men, and recent torrential rains had raised the threat of disease spreading.

Ms Befecadu said: "With a distress signal received from Kailahun, there was no alternative to a military option."

Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, welcomed his release. "I am delighted that all the UN military observers, including Major Harrison, are safe and well," he said. "We now look to all sides to allow all the UN peacekeepers unhindered access to all places of safety."