A British mother who was kidnapped in Malawi has made a safe return home following a daring rescue mission.

Nusrat Osman, 47, was abducted in the Mount Pleasant area of Blantyre last Friday.

The mother-of-two has now been found safe and returned home, her brother Shobi Jiwa confirmed.

Mrs Osman, from Leicester, had been working in Malawi as an auditor after moving to the country for her husband’s job.

Jiwa said a senior police officer was shot during the operation to rescue his sister.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Noel Kayira was shot during the operation to find Mrs Osman but survived and was said to be out of danger.

He did not disclose where the shooting occurred or identify the people who were allegedly holding Mrs Osman.

‘We are deeply grateful to Noel Kayira, Deputy Inspector General of the Malawi Police, who took a bullet to his body and bravely saved our sister Nusrat,’ he said.

The development comes six days after police reported Mrs Osman had been abducted.

Police said four men believed to have been using a grey Nissan Dualis snatched the mother off the street as she did the school run.

Nusrat Osman, a mother of two young children, is from Leicester and was working in Malawi as an auditor

The Malawi Police Service had offered a K30 million reward for credible information leading to Mrs Osman’s rescue and the arrest, prosecution and conviction of the perpetrators.

Speaking before she was found, her younger brother Shobi Jiwa described the ‘traumatising’ moment of the kidnapping, saying four armed men dragged Mrs Osman out of her car and took her away.

‘My sister has been missing for five days with no trace or call,’ he said.

Asked if he had any idea about the motive, he added: ‘There is nothing we can think of.’

Local outlet Nyasa Times spoke to her husband, who said: ‘I don’t know where she is or how she is. My wife is an auditor and I have no issues with anyone.’

Police were yet to comment on the development.