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AN IDIOT ABROAD
Brit Miles Routledge ‘trapped in Kabul on holiday’ leaves mum in pieces after ‘insane’ trip ‘got way out of hand’
A BRIT who claims he is stuck in Kabul after going to Afghanistan on holiday has left his mum in pieces after his "insane" trip "got way out of hand".
Miles Routledge, 24, said he picked the bizarre holiday destination after googling "the most dangerous cities to visit" and he is now hiding out in a UN safehouse after trying to flee the war-torn city several times.
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The Loughborough physics student from Birmingham has been documenting his odd trip on Twitch, the live streaming platform, and on 4chan, the message board site linked to viral memes and pranks.
As thousands of desperate Afghans try get out of the country after the Taliban victory, Miles said he believes he will be safe because of a £15 joke purchase which gives him the right to use the title "Lord" - which is seen on his American Express card.
And he said he still hopes to break cover in the coming days and reach a commercial flight home out of Kabul - which he joked was preferable to "staying permanently in a grave".
This is a joke that’s just gone way out of hand. He wanted to come back in September with a story to tell about how he went to Kabul.
Miles' pal
Despite Miles' optimistic outlook, Miles' mum, Susan, was too distraught to speak at the family home in Sutton Coldfield about her son's situation.
She told The Sun Online she was urgently waiting for a call from the Foreign Office to find out whether Miles will be kept safe as Kabul residents woke up on Monday to their first day under Taliban rule.
And a pal at Loughborough University has now revealed Miles had wanted to do "something weird during summer to show off about" in September.
The meme-loving student had posted about his plans for the "insane" trip on online university forums before setting off on his holiday, his friend said.
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"Miles is definitely in Afghanistan - 100 per cent. He’s genuinely there. People might think it’s an elaborate hoax but it’s true," he told The Sun Online.
"People told him he was insane. They told him he was a nutcase if he went over there at the moment.
"But I think it just spurred him on. He’s a joker - he just wanted to do something weird during summer to show off about.
"This seems like an elaborate real-life meme gone way too far."
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He added: "This is a joke that’s just gone way out of hand. He wanted to come back in September with a story to tell about how he went to Kabul.
"The madness and the danger doesn’t appear to have crossed his mind.
"He posted on Reddit saying he’d bought a knife to protect himself. He said, 'If I go down, I want to go down guns blazing'. It’s ridiculous.
"He’s definitely not a fighter. He couldn’t handle himself against a uni student - let alone the Taliban."
It comes as…
- Taliban stormed Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace after ripping through Kabul
- Boris Johnson blamed the US for Afghanistan’s ‘accelerated’ collapse to the Taliban
- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he fled to ‘prevent a flood of bloodshed’
- UK ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow to remain at Kabul airport to help Brits leave
Miles was planning to spend a few weeks in Kabul before going to Albania and flying back to England to avoid the UK's red list, his pal said.
"This was just his weird summer holiday. It’s not like he’s going there because he’s got an interest in what's happening - he’s only gone there for a joke," he said.
"It’s insane. Now he’s trapped and he can’t get back.
"I can understand going somewhere for a joke. But going to Kabul while it’s falling it’s just madness.
"He’s literally stuck there and he can’t get back. They’ve pulled out all the troops. It’s just crazy."
'PREPARED FOR DEATH'
On Sunday, Miles told his online viewers he was "fully prepared for death" and "accepted it".
"This trip has been a test of God. I’m very religious so I believe I’ll be looked after," he said.
"Before I left I wrote a letter to my friends saying that if I died, not to feel guilty, that I would die happy and religious and proud."
He added: "I was under the impression that the country wouldn’t fall for another month, so I thought it was going to be fine.
"I’d seen videos on YouTube of people going. I thought maybe the worst case would be food poisoning."
A Foreign Office spokesperson told The Sun Online: "We are aware of this case and are attempting to reach the individual to offer assistance.
"We are working hard to contact all the British nationals we are aware of who remain in Afghanistan, to help them leave the country."
I was under the impression that the country wouldn’t fall for another month, so I thought it was going to be fine.
Miles Routledge
On Sunday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country after the Taliban stormed the capital Kabul and seized his palace.
The fanatics have released 5,000 prisoners and taken control of Kabul as the government dramatically collapsed.
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It came hours after the Taliban took control of Jalalabad and means they now have seized every city in the war-torn country.
A few days ago United States officials predicted it would take 30 days for the Taliban to reach Kabul - and 90 to take the city - but they have swept all before them in a terrifying rampage.
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