The British couple freed in Somalia 13 months after being kidnapped by pirates are preparing to fly home to the UK.

Paul, 60, and Rachel Chandler, 56, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, enjoyed their first night of freedom at the British High Commission in Nairobi.

The couple, whose yacht was boarded off the Seychelles in October 2009, have spoken of their fear after being beaten when they refused to be separated.

Their ordeal was reportedly ended by the payment of a ransom.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the sum paid for their eventual release had been "the best part of $1m" (£620,000), although there has been no official confirmation of this.
The Chandlers appeared outside the British High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya The Chandlers were taken to the British High Commission in Nairobi

Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted the UK government had not been involved in paying ransoms to the kidnappers.

He said: "We have used our contacts in the region to try to gain information and to influence the hostage-takers, but no British government is going to start paying ransoms for hostages."

The Chandlers, who spent 13 months held hostage in harsh conditions and intense heat in rural Somalia, said they had been beaten when they refused to be separated during their time in captivity.

BBC.co.uk/news