British charity runner mistaken for Mexican drug runner by border guards

'I was scared, especially with so many vehicles swooping in and the guy in the video to start with was handling it all very seriously,' says Jamie McDonald

Mexican border police have interrogated a British fundraiser after mistaking him as someone who was "part of the drugs cartel".

Jamie McDonald, who is running coast to coast across the United States to raise money for sick children, was stopped by officers while jogging in the early hours of the morning. He was wearing a high visibility vest and holding a torch.

He filmed the encounter, providing commentary about what had transpired.

The Gloucester native said it was 2am and "absolutely pitch black" as he was running, when he saw "this little silhouette and this guy says ‘what are you doing out here’ and shines a torch on me."

He added: “Apparently someone called through to say there was someone suspicious running through at night with a torch. Which was me.”

The 31-year-old, who was running the latest leg of 6,000 mile jog. said he was “scared” when five cars and two quad bikes pulled up alongside him minutes later. He was informed that someone reported a suspicious character running through the desert.

“I was scared, especially with so many vehicles swooping in and the guy in the video to start with was handling it all very seriously,” he said in a video.

Being stopped by “a swat” team was “absolutely nuts”, he added, before suggesting that his “Freddie Mercury look” had also set off alarm bells.

With his passport to hand, he was able to clear up the misunderstanding. He is seen explaining to one officer that he set out on his marathon adventure back on April and runs in the night to avoid the 50C desert heat.

In 2014 Mr McDonald, who has raised more than £100,000 for charities including Great Ormond Street Children's Charity and the Pied Piper Appeal, spent almost a year running across Canada.

The author and motivational speaker claims on his website that has been “caught in a monsoon, dodged striking snakes, scorpions and spiders, been ordered to come out of his tent ‘with his hands first’” since embarking on his latest challenge.