A NORTH Dorset explorer says he has some idea what five British nationals captured in Ethiopia are going through.

Colonel John Blashford-Snell OBE has led 10 British-based expeditions in Ethiopia since 1964.

Colonel Blashford-Snell, from Motcombe near Shaftesbury, has been entertained by Haile Selassie, was twice captured and fought his way out of captivity, and most recently in October 2006 escaped armed bandits known as Shifta.

He told the Daily Echo that if bandits were responsible for kidnapping the group linked to the embassy in Addis Ababa, he expected the captives would be treated reasonably well.

"The Eritreans and Ethiopians have always been friends of Britain," he said.

"I think if the bandits want something they want to hold them in good condition.

"I cannot see a lot of point of a group of bandits holding these people for long.

"The desert is not an easy place to be. It is extremely hot, 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Wherever they are holding these people there must be water. It's probably why they released some of the Ethiopians, to reduce the numbers.

"They didn't shoot them, that indicates they perhaps they are not as evil as one might think."

Colonel Blashford-Snell said although reports said the captors had worn Eritrean military uniforms, his experience was that people bought second-hand uniforms, and bandits did not normally travel in gangs of 50.

Speaking of his own experiences, Colonel Blashford-Snell said the first time he was captured was in 1968.

"They had a lot of guns, more guns than we had. They were holding us as hostages as they didn't want to pay income tax to the emperor. They thought if they held us they would be let off paying income tax. We escaped from that.

"We were attacked twice.

"Then in 2005 we were back, working a few miles further down. We were stopped by armed bandits who wanted money. They had six Kalashnikovs and we had one pistol. There were 24 of us, six of them. We had a secret weapon, a satellite phone.

"We called up the Ethiopian Ministry of Defence."

When the local police raided the camp at 6am the next day, the team lay on the ground while the police rounded up the bandits.

He then escaped armed bandits known as Shifta in October last year.

Colonel Blashford-Snell is currently preparing to lead a team from the British Scientific Exploration Society to the depths of the Bolivian jungle to study what is believed to be the biggest recent meteor crater on Earth.

The team still needs an organist or good pianist, a vet to examine a newly discovered double-nosed dog, and a doctor.

Further donated funds are also always welcomed.

To get involved call the SES on 01747 854898 or email base@ses-explor.org