A Winchester woman married to an Iraqi has spoken of her fears for her husband's country and family if war breaks out.

Gill Chalabi, of Cranworth Road, has been wed to Baghdad-born Zuhair for 26 years.

While her husband was "too despairing to speak", Mrs Chalabi hit out at British politicians who did not have the foresight to consider the effects of war on Iraq.

"It's not just something that happens out there. We're part of it. We have been consistently against this war.

"It's hard for people here to realise what this does to the Middle East. We haven't the imagination to think how other people might be feeling."

Being married to an Iraqi had "opened her eyes" to what other people are thinking. "If we're to go into a war, the question of safeguarding the electricity supplies and sewage system should be a priority because of the effect on the civilian population.

"I don't want to throw in the towel by saying the war will happen, but these are the kind of things our government needs to hear."

Last year, their daughter, Selma, made a video about her Iraqi heritage. Baghdad was said to be a city "of great progress and innovation, very ambitious and full of people with a thirst for books and knowledge."

In it, Mrs Chalabi laments the disintegrating sense of family solidarity, due to difficulties of visiting and travelling.

Selma, who sees herself as "both them and us", says in the video: "We don't hear what ordinary Iraqis feel. We don't hear what Iraqi people in Britain feel. We're the voice of a people caught between two great powers in the politics of our time.

"I long for when I can visit my cousins and sit with them in the city of my dad's youth."

RHCH in the front line for war call-up Medical staff from Winchester's Royal Hampshire County Hospital are among the first to be called up in the preparation for war.

And a hospital spokesman has admitted that there could be many more on the reservist list who are not known to RHCH bosses.

A theatre nurse has already left work for the Gulf and several more are on the list to be called up in the near future - one involved in highly secret operations.

The spokesman said there were not enough staff on the reserve list to affect services at the Romsey Road hospital, but admitted that there could be more because employees are not legally obliged to tell bosses they may receive a call-up.

Employment barrister, Tim Forer, said medics and ex-armed forces personnel would naturally be among the first to be called.

Depending on how the war progresses, volunteer reservists such as territorial army members would be next, followed possibly by engineers and other professionals, he said.

"It all depends on where the shortage of skills is. Most of those being called up at the moment are medical people.

"Because of the cutbacks in defence services, there's a severe shortage of medics, so they either go without medical cover, or call up the reservists," added Mr Forer.