Topless man flags down police car and snorts cocaine in front of officers as raging wildfire approaches

Officers were overseeing the evacuation of 7,000 residents from homes at threat from the brush fire when they were approached by Joshua Benz

Joshua Benz was arrested after flagging down police and snorting cocaine in front of officers (Collier County Sheriff's Office)

A topless man was arrested after snorting cocaine in front of police officers as they tried to evacuate him from the danger zone of a raging wildfire.

Joshua Benz, 25, flagged down a patrol car in a rural area of Collier County, Florida, where firefighters have been battling flames for five days.

Fire tore across more than 7,000 acres of brush, destroying nine buildings including five homes, after the blaze began on Thursday.

Benz, wearing jeans and no shirt, approached officers on Friday night as they managed the evacuation of more than 7,000 residents from the Golden Gates Estates, east of the city of Naples.

He put a clear plastic bag up his nose and snorted for three or four seconds before turning around and putting his hands behind his back, Naples Daily News reported.

Police arrested Benz and the bag was found to contain cocaine, Collier County Sheriff's Office said.

Benz, from Naples, was held in Collier County jail on a $5,000 (£3,900) bond and will face a charge of cocaine possession in court on 15th May.

Firefighters were still battling flames on Tuesday, with crews estimating the wildfire was 65 per cent under control.

Brush fires have plagued Florida throughout 2017 amid dry weather and droughts.

More than 1,600 wildfires have ripped through 88,000 acres of the state since the beginning of the year.

A blaze near the Georgia-Florida state line continued to spread this week after being sparked by a lightning strike on April 6.

The wildfire has burned more than 90 square miles as winds spread flames through dry areas of the Okefenokee Swamp. Firefighters said the overall area of the blaze grew more than 22 per cent between Monday and Tuesday.