Alex Batty 'ready to talk to mother' after she 'kept kidnapped Brit in French commune' for six years
An 11-year-old boy who went missing for six years has contacted his mother for the first time since he escaped her commune in France.
Listen to this article
Alex Batty, now 20, disappeared in 2017 after going on holiday with his mother Melanie Batty and his grandfather David Batty.
They had been on an "alternative" nomadic lifestyle around Spain and France - with Alex supposed to be returned to his grandmother the following week.
But he vanished after the pair allegedly took him to an “off-the-grid” commune, where he spent six years, before fleeing in 2023.
Alex reappeared six years later when a delivery driver found him on the side of the road in the French Pyrenees.
For the first time since his return, he has reached out to his mother and has shared the comments in an explosive new documentary - Kidnapped By My Mum.
In one message sent to his mother, Alex wrote: "I know how much you care about me and how all you wanted to do was protect me. I love both of you."Alex retraces his journey through Spain and France in the new film, sharing how he spent time at camp sites in France in 2022 and survived off just one meal a day.
"Just pasta and sauce on its own for lord knows how long. That's just how I used to eat," he tells the programme.
He also claimed his mother booted him from her campervan over disagreements between the pair, forcing him to sleep in a tent over the winter as she stayed in heated accommodation.
“My mum would tell me constantly, ‘you need to do spiritual work’, ‘you need to do inner work’, but when I was 15, I started really thinking for myself.
“I’d try and find my own answers and when I did, if they differed in any way, it would start a row. It was constant battles, constant arguments, constant yelling,” he said.
He added: "So, she kicked me out of her campervan. I was living in a tent for a few months whilst my mum had this really nice warm campervan next to me.”
Alex was later brought to the UK to live with Susan Caruana, 68, his grandmother. He previously lived with her in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
In February, police said they had Alex’s mum and grandfather avoided criminal charges after they “explored all possible lines of enquiry” and found “insufficient grounds to move forward with any criminal prosecution.”
Detective Superintendent Matt Walker, who led the investigation said; “Alex and his safety has been at the forefront of our minds and actions since he was found in Toulouse, France in 2023.
“In our commitment to protecting children, we felt it was important that the circumstances of Alex’s disappearance be properly and thoroughly investigated. I led a dedicated team to do exactly that when Alex was first found, and this has continued since.
Upon being found, Alex said: “I don’t think they should get in touch with the police because I don’t want them to go to jail.”
Kidnapping a child carries a maximum sentence of seven years in the UK.
Melanie and David Batty were contacted about the allegations for the documentary but did not provide a response.