Pirates holding the abducted yachting couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, may consider releasing them if their expenses in capturing them are paid, The Times reports.

The newspaper quotes a Whitehall source as saying that the pirates may now have realised that the pair weren’t worth taking in the first place as they are just ‘holidaymakers’ without the backing of a huge and wealthy corporation.

However the expenses amount to a small fortune – two million US dollars – for 150 guards, the renting of vehicles and food.

The Chandlers from Tunbridge Wells, Kent were captured in October as they sailed from the Seychelles towards Tanzania in their Rival 38, Lynne Rival.