Four British men face prosecution for taking selfies near exploding volcano

Four British men could reportedly be facing prosecution after breaching police warnings along the active La Palma volcano to take photos which were later posted on social media.

The four Brits are believed to have taken an unusual journey to reach the volcano, which has caused thousands of people to flee their homes and destroyed hundreds of properties. They travelled by boat from their homes in Tenerife to reach dangerous out of bounds areas near the 1075C lava.

According to local media, the men, reported to be gym enthusiasts, now face possible court action after putting their lives and the lives of security forces at risk.

One of the men posted a photo of himself on social media wearing a t-shirt and shorts not far from the burning lava. He said: “We had to cover to sneak round the army and police. It was a full SAS mission with roadblocks, search points and animals to dog in pitch black.”

In another message he added: “Took a plane, a rental car, a ferry, and a five hour night hike around the army’s roadblocks but we f*****g did it. Once in a lifetime s**t.”

The Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Spanish Canary Islands erupted on 19 September and has since destroyed more than 1,880 acres of land and 2,000 buildings destroyed.

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The close-up footage and photos the group took are understood to have been used by Civil Guard officers in La Palma to identify the men.

Spanish TV broadcaster La Sexta said that the police had identified the men in a report sent to government officials, with prosecutors proposing possible disobedience charges. The four men have not yet been formally named.

The Civil Guard has yet to make any official comment on the incident.

Although the island was devastated by the volcano, there have been no casualties due to prompt and robust evacuations by the police and strong efforts to keep people away from the volcano.