Rescued backpacker says he was 'total idiot'

A British teenager who was found dehydrated and freezing after 12 wintry days lost in Australia’s wilderness said he wrote farewell notes to his family and expected to die of starvation.

Jamie Neale, 19, told Australia’s 60 Minutes television programme today that he was “a total idiot” to venture unprepared into the Blue Mountains, 60 miles west of Sydney.