Alex Batty’s mum claims 'she'll stay on the run' as she 'hides with her dad'

31 December 2023 , 10:07

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Melanie Batty, who is said to have told friends of her plans to keep moving around after her teen son's return to the UK (Image: PA)

Alex Batty's mum has reportedly told friends she has "got to keep running" as her son starts the new year back in the UK.

The 17-year-old from Oldham, who had spent six years living a nomadic lifestyle abroad with his mum, returned to the UK on December 16 after he was found in France near Toulouse.

He had been picked up by a lorry driver as he hiked through France in a determined effort to get home. Police officers have since interviewed him as part of efforts to establish whether he was abducted by his mother, Melanie Batty.

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Alex Batty, now 17, spent six years living a nomadic lifestyle abroad with his mum (PA)

After spending several years with his mum in her alternative lifestyle, Alex celebrated Christmas properly for the first time in years with two dozen cans of his favourite drink, Irn Bru. Now back living with his grandma Susan Cuarana, 68, the boy's legal guardian said she was having the "best Christmas ever" following her grandson's shock reappearance.

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Melanie, who left the country with her dad David after being inspired by online conspiracies such as flat earth theory, is meanwhile said to have told pals of her plans to continue moving around. Brit expat Tony Smith, 81, who had let her a converted cowshed in the French Pyrenees, told the Sun on Sunday: "She emailed me last week saying, ‘I’ve got to stay on the run". Mr Smith also said he believed she was with her dad, and that she "adored him and would never leave without him".

Mum Melanie Batty is thought to be with Alex's grandad David Batty (Manchester Evening News)

The landlord of the house where she had been staying, in the hamlet of Villefort, near Chalabre in the Aude, told reporters last week that she had moved out in the middle of the night. Melanie Batty is said to have left the rented property in Southern France where she was staying with son Alex suddenly, before telling the owner "I'll be back". Local reports suggested she has also been travelling with an Italian male friend called Fabrizio - who she has nicknamed her "disciple" - in his white Peugeot 208, and may be living as little as 25 miles away from the previous property.

Alex Batty was discovered walking along a rural road by French driver Fabien Accidini. He returned home to Oldham in Greater Manchester to live with his grandmother Susan Caruana this month, and reunited with her shortly after getting off the plane. Alex, 17, wrote a letter to his mum explaining his reasons for leaving, before she subsequently fled the home near Chalabre in the Aude on Friday, December 15 with a friend.

Alex was reported missing in 2017 when he went on a planned holiday in Spain with Melanie and grandfather David when he was 11. The three are thought to have travelled to Morocco and France, living a hippy lifestyle after making various contacts through online groups. The teen said he plans to finish his education in the UK. Greater Manchester Police are investigating the case.

Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas