Last updated at 08:46, Thursday, 22 March 2012

A British woman kidnapped from a resort island on the Kenyan coast has been released, a Somali pirate and a militia official said today.

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British tourist Judith Tebbutt, 56, who was snatched by Somali gunmen from a resort island in Kenya and whose husband David Tebbutt was killed in the attack, is seen after being freed following more than six months in captivity in Adado, Somalia Wednesday, March 21, 2012. (AP Photo)

Judith Tebbutt, from Ulverston, was kidnapped by Somali gunmen from a beach resort north of the coastal city of Lamu last September.

The gunmen killed her husband, David Tebbutt, during the attack.

Somali pirate Bile Hussein and Mohammed Hussein, an official with the militia Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama, said Mrs Tebbutt was released by pirate captors today and is expected to be flown to Nairobi.

The pirates attacked the Tebbutts during a string of assaults and kidnappings in coastal Kenya.

Kenyan troops moved into Somalia soon after the spate of attacks.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that Judith Tebbutt, the British hostage held in Somalia since September 2011, has been released. 

"Our priority now is to get her to a place of safety."

First published at 09:50, Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk