Three people have been sentenced to life in prison by a South African court for the kidnapping, robbing and murder of a British couple in February 2018.

Rachel Saunders, 64, and her husband Rodney, 73, were kidnapped while in the Ngoye Forest, 150km (93 miles) north of the port city of Durban.

The British botanists had been collecting indigenous plants and seeds, before their bodies were found days later in a river.

Saffydeen Aslam del Vecchio, 46, his wife Fatima Patel, 35, and Malawian national Ahmad Mussa were convicted of the murders last month and were each sentenced to two life terms by the KwaZulu-Natal division of the Durban High Court on Thursday.

The trio were also found guilty of stealing the couple’s belongings, including bank cards which were used to purchase various items near Durban, the country’s police service said in a statement, external.

Shortly after the couple’s disappearance, their car was found with blood marks and 734,000 rand (£42,000; $44,700) was reportedly drained from their bank accounts.

In addition to the life terms, the accused were each sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances and four years for theft.

Del Vecchio was also sentenced for five years’ imprisonment regarding an unrelated case of malicious damage to property.

The sentences of the accused will run concurrently.