A Spanish influencer has been caught deliberately covering himself in mud before filming a news segment in flood-decimated Valencia.

Ruben Gisbert was on Sunday filming in Valencia for Horizonte, a news programme directed and presented by veteran Spanish journalist Iker Jiménez, when he knelt down to coat his legs in dirt before a live broadcast.

But the influencer and lawyer was caught by an onlooker filming the broadcast from a building above. The video was shared on social media and met with scorn.

Valencia is still recovering from the worst flash flooding in modern history after being met with a year’s worth of rain within eight hours last week.

At least 217 people were killed as the flooding ravaged south-eastern Spain. The number of people still missing remains unknown.