Alex Batty says he wants to ‘live a normal life’ (Picture: SKY NEWS / PA)
Kidnapped teenager Alex Batty just wants to ‘live a normal life’, according to the student who helped rescue him.
Fabien Accidini spotted the 17-year-old walking alone in the early hours of the morning in Toulouse, France, and offered the youngster a lift to shelter him from the heavy rain.
During the journey, Alex revealed that he had been kidnapped by his mother in 2017 when he was just 11 years old and had been missing for six years, living with 10 other people in Spain as part of a ‘spiritual community’ before moving to France in 2021.
The teenager said he had been hiking in the mountains for four days in an attempt to find a way back to England before Accidini picked him up.
He was said to be tired and stressed when the 26-year-old student picked him up, but was otherwise calm and physically fine.
Speaking to Sky News, Accidini said he was initially sceptical of the boy’s story, but nonetheless agreed to call the police after hearing more details of his ordeal.
‘After I called the police to explain the situation, when the cops arrived, that’s when I realised the whole story [was real],’ he said.
‘He didn’t have regrets [about leaving the community]… he just wanted to live a normal life, to see his grandmother again and to have a normal future, that’s the word that he used.’
His rescuer Fabien Accidini found the teen walking down a road in Toulouse in the rain (Picture: Sky News)
When asked if he had a message for Alex, Mr Accidini added: ‘I hope that your grandmother will be happy… I am sure of it. And if you want to meet again I am here.’
Alex was on holiday in Marbella with his mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, who was then 58. Both were prohibited from being with the boy at the time, due to domestic difficulties.