Kidnapped pair are 'taken inland'

The couple were taken hostage by gunmen in the Indian Ocean

A British couple kidnapped by Somali pirates are believed to have been taken back to the mainland and are on the move away from the coast.

Paul and Rachel Chandler, aged 59 and 55, from Kent, were taken hostage by gunmen on their yacht in the Indian Ocean in the early hours of 23 October.

The pirates have issued a ransom demand of $7m (£4.3m).

BBC Somali sources said the couple were moved from the coast at the weekend and then inland to the town of Baxdo.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardener said Baxdo was near an area used by the extremist militia Al-Shabaab.

Pirate stronghold

The Chandlers, who are from Tunbridge Wells, are said to be on the move between the provinces of Mudug and Gal Guduud.

In a phone call on Thursday, the couple said they were first moved from their yacht to a container ship, the Kota Wajar, which had also been seized by the pirates.

A man, who identified himself only by his first name, Abdinor, and who claimed to speak for the Somali kidnappers, said the pair spent Thursday night in the coastal town of Harardhere, which is a pirate stronghold.

The couple's empty yacht was found during counter-piracy operations

It is thought the Chandlers were then moved to another ship anchored off the coast of Somalia on Friday.

The pair had been travelling to Tanzania from the Seychelles. Their yacht, the Lynn Rival, was later found in international waters.

The government has said it will not make a ransom payment to the pirates.

The Foreign Office said the couple were "blameless tourists" but said no payment would be made nor advice given to relatives on how to make a payment.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office added: "We are aware of reports that a ransom demand of $7m has been made. [Her Majesty's Government] HMG's policy remains clear: We will not make substantive concessions to hostage takers, including the payment of ransoms."

Mr Chandler's brother-in-law Stephen Collett has insisted that the couple are "not rich people" and that most of their money is tied up in their yacht.

According to the BBC's East Africa Correspondent, Will Ross, previous cases have seen pirates start with an extremely high figure but settle for far less.