Yesterday’s Independent carried a short item about Elisabeth Fritzl who is is reported to have begun an affair with one of her bodyguards.

The Austrian online newspaper oe24 said Elisabeth, now 42, had started a relationship with a man identified only as Thomas W, and the couple were now living together and is apparently " head over heels in love," the paper reported.

The newspaper claimed the relationship had already been of huge psychological benefit to Ms Fritzl, who only experienced a few teenage flings when she worked as a waitress, before she was kidnapped by her father, Josef, at the age of 18 and locked up in the cellar beneath his home. Ms Fritzl is now reported to have felt well enough to discontinue her regular sessions with a psychiatrist and had even successfully completed a driving test, the paper said.

Roderick Orner, a British consultant psychologist and an authority on trauma, said yesterday that it was normal for victims to start intimate and socially supportive relationships because they needed to build up their trust. "Providing the relationship is monitored by an expert, it can be very positive and we should welcome it," he said. However he added that trauma victims also suffered from "attachment difficulties... This is why they will need professional advice and support," he explained.

I can’t think of anyone more deserving of some happiness and stability in her life than Elisabeth Fritzl... apart from those of her children that shared years of imprisonment with her. I really do hope that she finds a lasting and loving relationship.