Man stuck in canyon for six hours and chased by wild dogs trying to take selfie

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A British hiker has told how he almost died after he became trapped in a canyon for six hours and was chased by wild dogs – all for the perfect Instagram selfie.

Josh Pollard was on holiday in Gran Canaria and had gone for a trek into the centre of the volcanic island when he got into difficulty.

The self-confessed geography "nerd" told the Daily Star: "I was excited to see some great landscapes and rock formations and discovered some amazing views.

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"I really wanted to get some good pictures and a selfie or two, and stupidly decided I could descend into one of the deep canyons."

What Josh didn't count on is how steep the terrain was. As he slowly made his way down the cliff face he realised he was in terrible trouble.

He explained: "As I started to climb down I realised that the drops were 20 feet plus, and from where I had got to there was no going back up.

"I spent an hour or two slowly making my way down into the canyon and managed to do so without dying. I am no rock climber so God knows what I thought I was doing!

"I found one point where there was a long sloping rock, perhaps 30-40ft in length that I could slide down most the way into the canyon."

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Once at the bottom, the 35-year-old from Leeds, realised he was now lost as the hot midday sun shone down on him.

"I realised that I was now stuck in the canyon with no way out," he recalled.

"I started walking back towards the coast as that would have been the direction the lava would have taken, which created these canyons.

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To make matters worse, Josh had also forgotten to take any water with him.

He said: "I walked for hours and was starting to feel faint and weak from lack of water and the heat, when I came across what can only be described as a village built into the cliffs. People were living in caves and had plastic doors stuck over the front of the entrances.

"I slowly made my way through the middle of this “village” and was then set on by two very angry dogs.

"I had to sprint as fast as I could over the very uneven and rocky terrain and deep long grass. I managed to get away from them and could finally see the main road.

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Eventually, after hours of walking, Josh spotted a supermarket.

He said: "I sprinted into it covered from head to foot in sand and dirt – about six hours after I’d climbed down into the canyon. I bought the largest bottle of water, downed most of it and threw the rest over myself.

“The worst part is that my phone died quite early on so I never got the picture.”

Josh isn't the only person who has risked life and limb to take the perfect selfie.

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Helping Brits get a good snap in Snowdonia – a spot of true beauty, but miles from anywhere with good camera gear – without having to risk life and limb, Wex Photo Video has opened the UK’s most remote camera store on Moel Hebog, so hikers can capture breath-taking pictures of this landscape.

Research from Wex into our photo and risk-taking habits, has found that 41% would ignore warnings and clamber over safety barriers, a third (34%) are prepared to suffer sunburn, and one in five (18%) are happy to endure insect bites and stings.

We’re a nation of show-offs, with 29 per cent wanting others to be impressed with how they look. One in 10 even say they want others to be jealous and 6 per cent aim to induce FOMO in others.

Paul Wareham, Marketing Director at Wex Photo Video said: “Our research and website data show that Brits want to take better pictures – and are going to extreme lengths to do so.

"While we can’t help with the sunburn, we can provide quality equipment and expertise to help customers capture the pictures they want. With our most remote camera store on Moel Hebog, all customers visiting can make sure their pictures reflect the beauty of this majestic spot.”

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