A man miraculously found alive after he got lost in the Australian outback for three days survived thanks to Bear Grylls .. and following a train of wild camels.
Barefoot Anthony Collis, 32, became separated from his girlfriend following a row in the remote Pilbara region in north-west Australia.
But he survived by eating bugs and flowers and burying himself in the sand – a technique he learned in TV watching Bear Grylls.
Enterprising Anthony also latched onto the trail of wild camels which eventually led him to some fruit to eat.
Builder Anthony, from Westbury, Wilts., was discovered sunburned and severely dehydrated in the rugged outback after his girlfriend Debbie Blomfield raised the alarm.
Anthony and Debbie, 39, were halfway into a 2,500-mile trip when they abandoned their vehicle after it became became stuck in the dry red sand, and got separated.
His grandfather Bernard Collis revealed Anthony was “lucky to be alive” after “deviating off the main track” between Darwin and Perth.
Bernard, 75, of Westbury, said: “Anthony followed a group of camels a little way and found fruit which was why he didn’t get too dehydrated – he was sucking the juice.
“He became lost when he cut through a bush thinking he had found a shortcut despite being told to always stay on the route.
“Their vehicle broke down, Debbie found a camp and got water before both split in different directions. People are saying they had some sort of argument but I’m not sure why they parted.
“It puzzles me that they went in separate directions.
“Anthony had been told earlier to stay on the path – which is a dust track – but he hoped to get there quicker.
“His feet were badly cut after he lost his flip flops and he was very disorientated when they found him.
“We were so worried about the outcome of it all but thankfully it all turned out all right in the end.”
Debbie Blomfield walked for five miles and arrived, dehydrated and disoriented, at a remote mining camp, where she immediately reported Anthony missing.
Planes, helicopters, four-wheel drives and Aboriginal trackers were brought in who found the abandoned vehicle.
Trackers discovered some of Anthony’s clothing and equipment in the outback, but he did not appear on the heat-detecting devices used by search officials who assumed he was dead.
But it emerged Anthony failed to show up on heat seeking equipment as he had buried himself in the sand and foliage to keep himself warm during the freezing nights.
Police officers eventually found him on Sunday after they spotted a trail of footprints in the dirt and then heard him calling out.
He was eventually found less than two miles from his vehicle.
