Couple who 'took in' Alex Batty say he 'wanted to get ID papers to enrol at school'

A couple said to have 'taken in' Alex Batty have said the teenager wanted to obtain new identification papers in order to enrol at a school in France, according to reports today.

Now 17, Alex was returned to the UK over the weekend and is now said to be 'with his family' - six years after he went missing from his home in Oldham aged 11 in 2017.

The teenager went missing while on a family holiday to Spain with his mother Melanie - who was not his legal guardian - and grandad, David. Last Wednesday, he was found walking alone near the city of Toulouse by a student who offered him a lift in his lorry. It's reported he had been hiking in the Pyrenees for days in a bid to return to the UK.

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Alex began an attempted journey to Britain last Sunday in the hope of getting a set of new identity papers from British authorities so that he could enrol at a school in France, where he had been living, reports the Mirror.

Going by the name of Zach in France, he reportedly arrived at an isolated farmhouse known as the Gite de la Bastide in the Pyrenees with his mum and granddad in the autumn of 2021. The trio are said to have been looking for accommodation.

His grandfather took a role as a handyman in the farmhouse in exchange for board and lodgings for himself and Alex. While Alex and his granddad David, who reportedly went by the name Peter, stayed at the home, his mother found a "spiritual" commune to reside in.

The farm owners reportedly looked after the boy like he was their own, taking him on outings during the summer. These included cycling, beach and river trips.