Alex Batty: What happened after his mother kidnapped him

Alex Batty was living with his legal guardian, his grandmother, when his mother took him to France, presumably to break away from his normal lifestyle. Photo: Greater Manchester/PA Police

In the remote mountain passes of the Pyrenees, far from prying eyes, live nomadic communities made up of people who, for one reason or another, have decided to leave the modern world.

Among them, it is now clear that there was Melanie Batty, a former law student from Oldham, Greater Manchester, and her son Alex.

On Wednesday, 17-year-old Alex turned up. from the mountains after days of hiking, he was «kidnapped» during a family holiday in Spain by his mother and grandfather Dave Batty six years ago.

He told a chiropractic student who found him wandering next to the road , dehydrated but carrying a skateboard under his arm, that his mother was «a little crazy.»

However, he insisted that she never imprisoned him and that he could always «leave whenever he wants.» He said he now wants to become an engineer.

Alex is due to return to the UK in the coming days.

In a statement released after his disappearance, Greater Manchester Police said his mother and grandfather were wanted in connection with his kidnapping.

Susan Caruana, his grandmother and legal guardian, has spent years seeking the safe return of her grandson since he first disappeared in 2017.

In a 2018 interview shortly after the trio disappeared, Ms Caruana said her husband and daughter had undergone a «transformation» before leaving the UK.