Kidnap victim Jaycee appears on television

KIDNAPPING victim Jaycee Dugard held captive for 18 years in a ramshackle backyard compound, has appeared in front of the cameras, cooking with her sister and mother and riding horses in home videos.

The appearance by Dugard, 29, represents the first time she has been seen and heard on video since she resurfaced six months ago after being kidnapped outside her South Lake Tahoe, California, home in 1991.

In one video clip, shown in the United States yesterday Ms Dugard's mother, Terry Probyn, thanks the public for its support and asks for privacy.

"Please give us the time we need to heal as a family without the prying eyes of photographers and the press," says Ms Probyn, addressing the camera in an outdoor setting. "We released this video to show we are happy and well, and when we have more to share, we will."

Convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, are awaiting trial on charges that they kidnapped Dugard when she was 11 years old and sexually assaulted her for several years.