British TV producer Mark Henderson, who has been held hostage in Colombia by Marxist rebels since September, has been released.

The kidnapped backpacker from North Yorkshire has been taken to an undisclosed location in the Sierra Nevada mountains where a helicopter organised by church mediators will fly him to freedom and subsequently on to Bogota.

Four Israelis who were taken hostage at the same time are also due to be freed.

The rebels agreed to release them after lengthy negotiations with church mediators.

Earlier, mediator Hector Fabio Henao said: "The release is going to take place in Sierra Nevada Mountains just like the last release and what we are looking at now is to arrange all the logistic issues.

"Because there are five hostages, we will have to go there with two helicopters to take the humanitarian delegates and the hostages."

Mr Henderson was captured on September 12 along with a German, a Spaniard and four Israelis.

Another backpacker, 19-year-old Matthew Scott, from Clapham in south London, reached safety after escaping from his captors and spending 12 days alone in the jungle.

The German and the Spaniard were released later.

The group was seized on a trek to the 2,500-year-old Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) ruins.

Helicopters and thousands of Colombian troops have been deployed to search for them. .