Britney Spears is being used as a secret weapon - to scare off Somali pirates.

Her hits are blasted out to deter kidnap attacks, merchant navy officer Rachel Owens revealed.

Spears's chart-toppers Oops! I Did It Again and Baby One More Time have proved to be the most effective at keeping the bandits at bay.

Owens, who works on supertankers off the east coast of Africa, said, "Her songs were chosen by the security team because they thought the pirates would hate them most.

"These guys can't stand Western culture or music, making Britney's hits perfect." Ships in the region are in constant danger from gun-toting pirates boarding and kidnapping crews for multi-million-pound ransoms.

In 2011, there were 176 attacks on ships by gangs of bandits off the Horn of Africa. They are such a threat the Royal Navy has 1,500 sailors on 14 warships operating round-the-clock patrols in the area.

Owens said the ship's speakers are aimed at the pirates so crews aren't disturbed.

"It's so effective the ship's security rarely needs to resort to firing guns," he said.

"As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney, they move on as quickly as they can."

metro.co.uk