2023-12-22 10:18:00
(CNN) — Alex Batty, the British boy who was found in France following being missing for six years, says it feels “surreal” to be back with his grandmother in the UK.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper published on Thursday, Batty, now 17, said: “Every time I go to sleep, I feel like I’m going to wake up back in France. I still haven’t realized that I have returned to England.”
The teenager spoke of the six years he spent living in Spain and France following his mother and grandfather took him on vacation in 2017 and never returned.
He said the first few years away from home were like a “vacation,” as he spent most of his time “reading, drawing, going to the beach.”
However, when he turned 14, Batty said he “started having to make a living” to pay for food and rent by working in construction, demolition and decorating. At that time he began to think regarding going to England.
“I started weighing the pros and cons of each lifestyle and following a couple of months of contemplation, I realized that England was definitely the way to go,” he said. “From the last few years, I might imagine my future years and it just wasn’t the best path for my future.”
Batty stated that he had a “non-existent social life” while living with his mother and grandfather, and claimed that he only made one friend during the six years he spent abroad.
The teenager said that when he decided to leave France to try to reach England, he wrote a note for his mother. “She told him how much he loved her, how much she appreciated what she had done for me. She didn’t want her to worry regarding me,” he said.
He took a warm jacket, his skateboard and some money for food, and left into the “pitch black” night, where “it was raining quite a bit.” She said he traveled at night, sleeping as little as possible and in well-lit areas for his safety.
Now back in England, Batty said he is “very happy” and “healthy.” He said that he still loves his mother and his grandfather and that he doesn’t want them to worry regarding him.
“I’m sorry to have left, but it was necessary for my future,” he said, addressing them in a video posted on The Sun’s website.
“I can take care of myself, so you don’t have to worry regarding any of that,” he added.
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