Holidaymakers warned about travel to pirate coast

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British holidaymakers are being warned to stay away from Kenyan coastal areas because of the risk of pirate attacks.

The Foreign Office issued its warning after a French woman was kidnapped early on Saturday from a beach resort in the Lamu archipelago, northern Kenya, by 10 heavily armed Somali militants.

Security forces have tracked down and surrounded the pirate boat believed to be carrying the hostage, identified as Marie Dedieu by the Kenyan government.

This is the second incident of its kind within recent weeks.

On September 11, Briton David Tebbutt, 58, was killed and his wife Judith, 56, was abducted by armed gunmen from a resort near the tourist town of Lamu.

The couple, from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, were the only guests at the Kiwayu Safari Village, 25 miles from the Kenya-Somali border.

In a statement the FCO said: "We advise against all but essential travel to coastal areas within 150km of the Somali border, following two attacks by armed gangs in small boats against beach resorts in the Lamu area on 11 September and 1 October 2011.

"This advice will be kept under review. Both attacks were on beach-front properties, with two Westerners kidnapped and one murdered.

"Beach-front accommodation in that area and boats off the coast are vulnerable."

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