Oldham teenager Alex Batty doesn't think he 'will see mum again' and doesn't 'want her in trouble'

Alex Batty and his grandmother Susan Caruana spoke exclusively to ITV's Good Morning Britain


Teenager Alex Batty who vanished while on holiday six years ago says he does not think he will see his mum again.

Alex, from Oldham, was 11 when he was taken to France by his mum and grandad, and returned to the UK in December after he was found walking across the Pyrenees by a delivery driver.

In an exclusive interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain, the now 17-year-old said: "I don’t think I’ll see any of them again.

"I’d like to see my grandad again, but if it doesn’t happen, they know I’m alright, I know they’re alright."

Alex was taken to France by his mum (left) and grandad when he was 11-years-old. Credit: Good Morning Britain

In his first television interview since returning to the UK, the teenager and his grandmother Susan Caruana told Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley that they did not want his mum and grandad to go to prison.

Susan Caruana said she forgives his mum for the kidnap. "I don’t want her to go to prison, I don’t want his grandad to go to prison," she revealed. 

Susan also said she 'learnt to live with the pain' of her grandson being kidnapped.

She said: "I knew I’d got to the point where it wasn’t so much he wouldn’t come back one day, it was 'would I still be around?'.

"So I feared that and now he’s home, all those fears have gone.

"It’s amazing. It’s amazing to wake up in the morning and not have that deep pain in my stomach, a big hole every day, but the difference was I learnt to live with it."

Alex's grandmother Susan Caruana said she had learned to 'live with the pain' of Alex's disappearance. Credit: Good Morning Britain

Alex explained the reason he didn't come home sooner was because he worried his mum and grandad would get in trouble.

Alex also explained: "That's why I didn't come home sooner. All I worried about was them getting locked up."

Talking about the past six years, Alex said: "We stayed in a lot of caravans and we stayed in a lot of houses, always up mountains hours away from any kind of village or anything like that.

He added: "One day I just thought, ok, I can't take this anymore. I knew that everything was already kind of in place for them to leave where we were so if I were to have left, they would be gone by the time the police arrived."

Alex was 11 when he was taken abroad by his mum and grandad.

When he eventually left a few weeks ago, he said he made food for everyone before leaving a note telling them how much he loved them, but that his living situation was not the best thing for his future.

Alex said: "I told them not to worry about me, because I know I can look after myself."

The teenager said that when he was in France, he worked cash-in-hand jobs, mainly renovation work.

Alex told Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley that he is looking forward to his 18th birthday. Credit: Good Morning Britain

Alex plans to go to Oldham College to study computer science and said of his mother: "She’s a very anti-government person and very spiritual and that’s the reason she wanted to take me out."

Looking ahead to the future, Alex revealed he's looking forward to his 18th birthday next month.

He said: "I'm going to get hammered with my friends!"


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