British teenager Alex Batty says the parent who made him leave the UK is “a great person… but not a great mother” in his first interview since fleeing the French Pyrenees.
The 17-year-old went on the run in the middle of the night because he wanted to live a normal life after six years of wandering around Europe and was fed up with the hippie lifestyle he lived with his mother.
He added that his mother often left him for long periods of time – up to seven months – and held “anti-government” views, including that many people were “slaves.”
He ran 22 miles over two days before a delivery driver spotted him with a skateboard at 3 a.m. and worriedly stopped for him.
The teenager used the driver's phone to contact his legal guardian – his grandmother Susan Caruana, 68 – and said in a text message: “Please pick up,” The Sun reported.
Alex, who returned to the UK on Saturday, was 11 years old when he went missing in Spain in 2017 and reportedly lived an itinerant life until he approached the driver while on a walk in the south of France and contacted local authorities.
Alex Batty talked about how he escaped in the middle of the night and marched for miles
Alex, from Oldham, was 11 when he failed to return from a holiday in Spain
His mother and suspected kidnapper, 48-year-old Melanie Batty, remains on the run.
Alex, who never went to school while living with his mother, dreamed of becoming a software developer.
After an argument he left his mother and his grandfather David.
Alex told The Sun: “I had a row with my mum and I just thought I'd leave because I can't live with her.”
He added: “She's a good person.” But she's just not a great mother. She just doesn't do the motherly things you're supposed to do. She's not very warm and open.'
The teenager had convinced his mother to move to a rented farmhouse instead of living in the mountains.
Tired of constantly moving and working for food and supplies, he said he found only one friend his own age during his six-year absence – a Spanish woman he met in a cafe.
He said he learned languages himself and studied math and computer science from textbooks, but didn't go to school.
Alex said he first had doubts about their alternative lifestyle when he was 14 and started thinking about his goals for the future.
He told The Sun: “I realized it wasn't a good way to live for my future.” The cloud had lifted because I started weighing everything up again – the pros and cons of England.
A tent in the forest in the Garden of Eden spiritual community near Chalabre
Alex flew to Malaga in September 2017 before being taken to a “spiritual community” at the foot of the Pyrenees. Investigators believe Alex fled the rural community in southern France and hiked for days through the French Pyrenees before being picked up by a truck driver who took him to a police station in Revel, near Toulouse
Alex Batty (pictured left) with his mother Melanie and his grandfather David six years ago
“I don’t know what would happen in my future if I stayed with my mother, but from the last few years I could get an idea of what life would have been like.”
“Moving around.” No friends, no social life. Work, work, work and don't study. This is the life I imagined if I stayed with my mother.
“In the mountains, in the middle of nowhere.” No people my age. When I was about 16, I talked to my grandfather about returning to England.
“My mother was against the idea. She was very anti-government and anti-vaccine. She feared that if I returned to a country and received my ID, I would be taken into care. Their catchphrase was: “Become a slave to the system.”
The 17-year-old escaped around midnight on Monday, December 11, while his mother was asleep in bed.
Equipped with only a skateboard and a backpack full of clothes and essentials, he set off for the nearest city – Toulouse, 70 miles away.
He packed four T-shirts, three pairs of pants, socks, trousers, a flashlight, 100 euros and a Swiss army knife.
He left his mother a message that said, “Hey Mom, I want you to know that I love you very much.” I am very grateful for the life you have given me over the last few years.
The “Garden of Eden” spiritual community where Melanie Batty lived
Gite de la Bastide in the part of the Pyrenees where the teenager Alex lived
“Don't worry about yourself – I'm sure you won't be found.” Don't worry about me either. You know I can take care of myself.
'I love you very much. Don't be too mad at me. I love Alex.'
The teenager was worried that his mother and grandfather would be arrested on suspicion of his kidnapping, so he lied to those he met along the way.
Alex – who used the pseudonym Zack Edwards in France – made up a story about a four-day hike through the mountains.
The 17-year-old spent his first night outside in the cold in a forest, drinking from mountain springs.
When he arrived in the town of Quillan, he bought a tuna baguette to eat. But he waited until 6 p.m. to leave because he was worried his mother would come by in her car.
He said he tried to be “smart” and walked from Quillan back to Chalabre, asking for directions and telling those he met that he was lost.
But he said, “I knew exactly where I wanted to go.”
Of the moment he was picked up by the driver, he told The Sun: “I was sleeping on the ground outside.” It was freezing cold. When I needed the toilet, I used leaves and grass.
The now 17-year-old has been “afraid of the glare of publicity” since returning to Great Britain.
“My plan was to come to Toulouse and get as far away as possible.” But when the delivery driver picked me up, I was so exhausted that I just blurted out a story.
“I wasn’t even hitchhiking when he picked me up. I walked over a small bridge. He said he stopped because he saw I had a skateboard. It was pouring rain and pitch black as it was 3am.
The distraught teenager said he was lying “in pieces on the floor” as he was taken to the police station because he feared he had said too much.
He said police took his fingerprints “about five times” and sent photos of him to his grandmother.
He spent the night with a foster family Wednesday through Friday and then was told he could fly home.
When he arrived at Toulouse airport, his other grandfather was waiting with two police officers and a social worker.
Alex said: “I was so happy to see him, I gave him a big hug.”
At 5pm he boarded a flight to Amsterdam and a connecting flight to Manchester landed at 8.13pm.
Describing the moment he met his grandmother again, he said he was “shaking” and gave her a “massive hug.”
He added: “The house is different now but still feels the same. “The biggest difference is that when I left I was a boy, but now I'm 6ft 2in, so I'm too tall for the bed. It feels great to be back. I've gotten a lot of help from social services and the police and I want to go to college.
“I understand a lot of French, so I won't give that up.” I will continue to learn. I want to study computer science or cybersecurity or blockchain development, so I will study hard and catch up.”
Alex believes his mother – who uses the fake name Rose – is planning to travel to Finland to see the Northern Lights.
He said she often left him to go away with her friends and left him with his grandfather – once for as long as seven months.
The teenager said she holds strong anti-government and “anti-vaxxer” views and believes many people are “slaves.”
In contrast, his grandfather David always listened to his concerns about their lives.
He affectionately called him “Grandpa Batty” and said David and his stepfather “raised” him and he saw them as father figures.
It has previously been reported that Alex remains under special legal protection as he builds his new life in the UK.
He was represented by lawyers at a family court hearing at Manchester Civil Courts of Justice. It was heard that he was “afraid of the public glare.”