Alex Batty 'glad to be home for Christmas' after reuniting with family for first time in six years

Alex Batty has spoken publicly for the first time today (December 18), telling reporters he is 'glad to be home for Christmas'.

The teenager, now 17, from Oldham, was found in France six years after he vanished. He had returned home from a shopping trip on Monday with a relative when he briefly spoke to reporters saying: "I’m glad to be home for Christmas” before going back inside, reports the Mirror.

Alex had arrived back in Oldham on Saturday evening after a whirlwind few days in which he was picked up by a French driver on a rural road in southern France. He will now spend Christmas with his legal guardian, grandmother Susan Caruana.

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Alex was reported missing in 2017 aged 11 when he went on a pre-planned holiday to Marbella, Spain, with mum Melanie Batty and grandfather, David Batty. French prosecutors said in a news conference on Friday that he was then taken to live in a 'spiritual community', living in Morocco and later the Pyrenees.

The teenager was discovered on Wednesday on a rural road near Quillan, France, where he was picked up by part-time delivery driver Fabien Accidini. Student Mr Accidini was delivering medicines to a pharmacy at the time and offered Alex a lift, before discovering his real identity.

Ms Caruana, 68, told the Mirror it was 'unbelievable' to see and hear Alex during a video call on Thursday night - the first direct interaction she'd had with her grandson in more than six years. She said: "It was absolutely like a dream when I heard his voice. It was unbelievable."

Greater Manchester Police has confirmed