'I wish I'd said don't go': Mum of Jay Slater describes 'nightmare' search for missing son

Mum of missing teenager Jay Slater tells ITV News' Ben Chapman she just wants her 'baby back'

The mum of missing teenager Jay Slater says she regrets encouraging her son to go on the holiday to Tenerife, and is currently in a "living nightmare" as the search for him continues.

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle went missing after telling a friend he "didn't know where he was" and needed water.

In the run-up to the trip - his first abroad without his parents - mum Debbie Duncan said Jay had been saving up and was really looking forward to it.

"I was loving that he was going and saying you'll love it, you'll come back and you'll want to go again," she said.

"Now I just wish I hadn't encouraged him to go."

Jay was last seen "in the middle of mountains with nothing around" as he attempted to walk home to his holiday apartment.

Debbie added: "There was a main road, there's bus stops there, there's cafes, its a hiking route, there's people about, people must have seen him.

"And if people haven't seen him, someone must have taken him.

"It's over 48 hours now since he last had any contact with anybody. He's out there somewhere or somebody knows where he is.

"We just need to find my baby."

Ms Duncan flew to the Canary Islands on Tuesday morning to search for him.

The apprentice bricklayer had travelled to attend the NRG Tenerife Weekender music festival with his friends.

Local authorities launched a major search in the Rural de Teno Park - or the National Park of Teno - which is popular with hikers, with Santiago del Teide the closest town.

But now police have confirmed that efforts have been widened to focus on the south of the island - the tourist resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas, close to where Jay was staying.

Mountain rescue teams, emergency services, drones and sniffer dogs had been searching since Monday

A spokesman for the Civil Guard said: "The search operation has moved to the south of the island. The search areas are Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas."

Jay failed to return home after he went to stay with people he had met on the holiday after a night out.

He contacted a friend, Lucy, who says she last spoke to him on Monday morning, when he called to say he was trying to walk back to their apartment "in the middle of nowhere", after not being able to catch a bus.

He told her his phone battery was on 1%, that he needed a drink of water and "didn't know where he was", Lucy said.

His phone then died with his last location showing as being in "the middle of mountains with nothing around".

Jay was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with shorts and trainers. He was also believed to be carrying a black bag.

Speaking about her son, Ms Duncan said: "He's just an ace person, everyone loves being in his company. He's the life and soul, he's just a beautiful boy."

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