A MOTHER whose daughters are at the centre of an international love snatch today revealed she had not spoken to them for six months and said: "They could be anywhere."

Josephine Bromley said she was at the end of her tether, losing hope of ever seeing Salam, 11, and seven-year-old Noor again and had lost faith with British government attempts to reunite them.

She told of how the Surrey mother arrested in Dubai on Monday as she tried to snatch back her 10-year-child was a friend she had met through a support group and said her case highlighted how desperate parents could become.

Josephine's estranged husband Jehad Al-Momani, formerly of Station Road, Great Harwood, took Salam and Noor to his native Jordan in July, during a school holidays access visit.

But the Foreign Office has since told Josephine that they have been taken to Saudi Arabia -- where their father works as a teacher --by their uncle.

Josephine said she did not know exactly where her children were and had no idea of how they are.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office admitted officials had not seen the girls since they were taken to Saudi Arabia and said it was trying to arrange a welfare visit and report back to Josephine -- like they did when the girls were in Jordan.

Josephine, of Lower Darwen, said: "When they were in Jordan I knew how they were at least. I have been told they are in Saudi Arabia now."

London-based Reunite International Child Abduction Centre deals with hundreds of cases a year where children are taken abroad. According to the group, 395 children were abducted last year but only 12 returned.

Josephine was put in touch with Sarra Fotheringham, whose son Tariq lives in Dubai with his father. On Monday Sarra, disguised in Arab dress, was arrested as she tried to take Tariq.

Josephine said: "I have spoken to Sarra over the phone and I was shocked when I heard this. But it shows how desperate people can be." In August her daughters, who were pupils at Lower Darwen Primary School, were made wards of court by a Blackburn judge who ordered the father to return his children.

But because many Arab states, including Jordan and Saudi Arabia, do not recognise British law and are not signed up to the Hague Convention on family rights and child custody, no action was taken.

Josephine, 34, who lives with fiance Paul Tomlinson and eldest daughter Emma, made brief contact with the girls by mobile phone when they were first taken.

And she said she felt as though she was being left to fight the battle alone.

Josephine said: "I feel like I have been let down by the government and the judicial system. I am not getting anywhere and it is very, very frustrating.

Instead of waking up to flowers and cards from her young children on Mother's Day, Josephine woke up to another day of despair.

She said: "It was very hard on Sunday. I got some flowers from Lower Darwen Primary School, which was lovely. It shows they are still thinking of me."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The uncle told us that the girls were now living in Saudi Arabia. We have not seen them and are trying to arrange a welfare visit and report back to the mother. We have no reason to believe the girls are not in Saudi Arabia."