“I JUST want my baby back.”

These are the heartbreaking words of Leila Sabra whose two-year-old daughter A’ishah was snatched in Egypt four months ago. Sitting hand-in-hand with her mother Barbara Maas, from Bournemouth, Leila has told the Daily Echo what happened the day A’ishah disappeared and has vowed she will do all she can to find her.

Leila claims A’ishah’s father, Saber Mesbah Sabra, abducted the toddler outside a café in Hurghada on May 16, but he has appeared on television apparently denying responsibility and saying he doesn’t know where the child is.

Leila said: “All I know is that he took her and since then we have not seen her. He says he doesn’t have her. If he doesn’t have her then who does? There is a missing two-and-a-half-year-old somewhere in Egypt so what is the government doing to find her?”

Leila has hundreds of photographs of A’ishah but says she finds it too hard to look at them.

She also carries around A’ishah’s favourite teddy which was left on the floor of the café the day she went missing.

She said: “It breaks my heart that not only has she been taken away from her mother but she hasn’t got her comfort blanket with her.”

Leila stayed in Egypt and tried in vain to push the authorities to help find A’ishah. Since her short return visit to England this month she has received the support of her MP, the president of her mosque and stars from Coronation Street.

She said: “I felt so alone in Egypt but since I have been back it’s been tremendous – the support we have had from the government, from my MP and from Coronation Street. I don’t feel alone anymore. I feel I can continue and know I have Britain behind me.”

Barbara, who lives in Throop, said she was glad to see Leila after three and a half months. “It was lovely to see her and just hold her.

“It has been a nightmare for every single member of our family. We are all going through so much but we cannot comprehend what Leila must be going through.”

Leila will return to Egypt tomorrow to continue her search for A’isahah. She said legal fees and travelling expenses have left her facing bankruptcy and she now risks losing her Manchester home.

“I am paying for everything, from legal fees to travelling expenses. I don’t know how I am going to continue. I am just going to have to take every day as it comes.

“I am not living, I am just existing to get my baby back. She is my life and it is my duty as her mother to protect her. I have to believe I am going to get her back.”

The Daily Echo has made repeated efforts to contact Saber Mesbah Sabra.