Jay Slater's mum Debbie addresses vile trolls who have targeted her family

The mum of missing Jay Slater has hit back at online trolls who have been targeting her with vile abuse on social media during the ongoing search for her son.

Jay's mum, Debbie Duncan and the entire family have endured horrific abuse online, including comparisons to Karen Matthews, who infamously orchestrated her own daughter's kidnapping, reports the Mirror.

Debbie is in Tenerife with the search now into its seventh day but she has not been able to bring herself to go to the location where Jay was last seen in the north west of the island.

READ MORE: 'I've lived in Tenerife for 10 years - where Jay Slater went missing is treacherous and dangerous... it would be easy to get lost'

She said: “People keep asking on social media ‘why aren’t I up there?’ and calling me the new Karen Matthews. I just can’t face it.” Speaking from the hotel where the family are staying, Debbie added she is still waiting for more news from the police and heard nothing fresh on Saturday.

Debbie said: “I’m just exhausted. I’m still hopeful. I’m not feeling negative just yet. I know it’s five days. It’s not just that they’ve said absolutely not. I don’t know what it’s been like today because I’ve been advised to stay away because I would just break down.

“My boy might be just up there somewhere. We’re all devastated. He’s just a normal boy from a little town in Lancashire. These things don’t happen. I was in touch with him while he is in Tenerife. He was just holidaying away, he’d saved up and was looking forward to it. I’ve not slept for five days. My brain isn’t functioning well and I’m tired and exhausted.”

A GoFundMe page set up for Jay’s family has now reached more than £28,000. Lucy Law, who was on holiday with Jay when the 19-year-old