UK yacht couple are moved inland

Mr and Mrs Chandler are being moved around in Somalia, the BBC understands

A British couple kidnapped by pirates while they slept aboard their yacht in the Indian Ocean are on the move inland in Somalia, the BBC understands.

Paul Chandler, 59, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, and his wife, Rachel, 55, were taken hostage by gunmen in the early hours of 23 October.

The BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner said they were on the move between Mudug and Gal Guduud provinces.

A ransom demand of $7m (£4.3m) was made in a phone call to the BBC on Friday.

BBC Somali sources say the couple were moved away from the Somali coast at the weekend and taken to the town of Baxdo, close to an area used by the extremist militia group Al-Shabaab.

The sources say they have since been moved on from Baxdo and are currently on the move between the two Somali provinces, our correspondent added.

The armed pirates forced the pair to sail towards Somalia after their boat was captured.

Searches for the Chandlers began after they sent a distress signal. Their empty yacht was found during counter-piracy operations after a multi-national search.

Mr Chandler has previously spoken by phone to the BBC's Somali Service while in captivity, saying "we are well and being looked after okay" and that "food is okay at the moment".

Mr Chandler had earlier said the couple were being held hostage on a Singapore-registered container ship called the Kota Wajah.

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