Bush survivor starts long journey home to London

Bush survivor Jamie Neale walked out of hospital today and thanked the rescuers and doctors who saved him.

The 19-year-old Londoner began the journey home to Muswell Hill two days after being found at the end of a 12-day search when his plan for a walk in the Australian bush went wrong.

"I would like to thank everybody, especially the people who looked after me at the Blue Montains Hospital," he said.

But he said nothing else as he left hospital in front of a crowd of photographers, reporters and TV crews.

He has signed a deal to be interviewed by Australia's 60 Minutes TV programme, who are understood to have paid £25,000 for the exclusive talk.

It was arranged by a media publicist engaged to sort out financial offers from he UK and Australia for the exclusive rights to Jamie's epic tale of survival.

To squash speculation in some Australian media that Jamie had somehow arranged a stunt to obtain money for his remarkable survival tale, his father Richard Cass engaged a publicity agent
to negotiate the sale of his story, making it clear a slice of the proceeds will be donated to the organisations which led the search for him and to the hospital which cared for him.

Commander Tony McWhirter, who co-ordinated the rescue effort, said the cost was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mr Cass said they will donate the majority of his rumoured £25,000 fee to New South Wales emergency services.

Jamie talked police through his time in the bush today, which began on 3 July when he went on a walk from the youth hostel where he was staying
without taking his mobile phone.

He told officers: "I was walking about trying to find my way out because I thought I was going to die in the bush."