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Alex Batty, who was abducted by his mother at age 11 in 2017 and lived off-grid in France for years, has found a job at a waste management company after being featured on BBC Breakfast. Now 20, he says the employment provides financial security for him and his family. The article highlights Batty's renewed sense of purpose following his difficult past and current employment challenges faced by young people like him; there are approximately 981,000 individuals aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment, or training.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Alex Batty, 20, from Oldham, described feeling a renewed sense of purpose after finding work following his abduction by his mother at age 11 in 2017. His mother and grandfather failed to return him from Spain and moved to France, where he lived as a nomad for years without attending school or using his passport. When discovered, he was heading to Toulouse with only €100 cash and a skateboard. Batty returned to live with his legal guardian, grandmother Susan Caruana, but struggled to find work until recently securing a job at a waste management company, providing financial security for his young family.
Written for “Boy Abducted By Mother Returned Home” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 15324 · logged 2026-09-17
- Published
Alex Batty, who disappeared for six years after being abducted by his mother as a child, has described feeling a renewed "sense of purpose" after finding work.
asserted
who → publish → work
Batty, from Oldham, was declared missing by his grandmother in 2017, aged 11, after his mother and grandfather failed to return him from a holiday in Spain and instead moved to France
Batty, who is now 20, said his job at a waste management company had given his young family financial security.
It has been a whirlwind couple of years for Batty, whose teenage years were spent living as a nomad in France.
asserted
years → declare → France
His mother, Melanie, who was not his legal guardian and was heavily influenced by conspiracy theories, told him to throw away his passport.
asserted
who → influence → passport
They lived off-grid and he did not attend school.
asserted
he → live → school
When he was discovered, he was heading for Toulouse with just a skateboard and €100 in cash.
asserted
he → discover → cash
Alex returned to live with his grandmother Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, in Oldham shortly afterwards, but found himself out of work for a long time.
asserted
Alex → return → time
"I've been used to having a job because I started working when I was young," he told the BBC.
asserted
he → use → job
"So, when I couldn't find one it did not feel right."
asserted
it → find → one
When Batty appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss his abduction, he revealed he was one of 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training.
asserted
he → appear → education
Daniel Carolan, a manager at SUEZ UK, happened to be listening to the interview and ended up reaching out.
Carolan said: "We were talking in the office about how we can make our recruitment better and how we can find these people.
asserted
we → happen → people
After two minutes of listening to Alex speak I knew he was desperate to find work and I felt he deserved an opportunity."
Three months on, Batty said it was "a great feeling" knowing he was in employment.
asserted
he → listen → employment
"It was a lot of pressure when I didn't have a job because I have a family.
asserted
I → have → family
You're sitting there doing everything you can but [applications] are all online and you can't show anyone what you can do."
asserted
you → sit → what
He added: "I've got a baby and my missus, and without a job there is a pressure to support them financially.
asserted
I → add → them
"So it gives us security, and I know I can provide for my family."
asserted
I → give → family
You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
asserted
You → send → 2230
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