The man who rescued the boy that went missing six years ago has recalled his first words to him.
Alex Batty, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was just 11 when he went missing in Spain in October 2017.
Now six years later, the British teenager has finally been found and the delivery driver who rescued him has opened up about the conversation he had with him.
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At the time, Alex had been on holiday in Marbella, Spain, with mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David Batty, who was 58.
Melanie and David had been prohibited from being with Alex because of domestic difficulties, and were due to return after two weeks but never came back.
French prosecutors now believe that a boy who turned up alone in Revel, near Toulouse, is Alex.
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Newspaper La Depeche reports: "Although he did not show any official document to the gendarmes who took him in, this young 17-year-old boy provided his identity on his own.
"His face and his story correspond in every way to that of the Briton kidnapped in 2017.
"This Thursday the Toulouse public prosecutor confirmed that it is indeed Alex Batty."
According to the French news outlet, investigators suspected that the youngster may have escaped a community living in a rural area in the foothills of the Pyrenees, with early enquiries suggesting he was part of a 'spiritual community'.
A delivery driver, Fabien Accidini, who was doing night deliveries for local pharmacies, has since recalled the moment he found the missing schoolboy wandering about the mountains of the South of France.
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He told Sky News: "I saw a young guy on the side of the road with a skateboard under his arm, backpack, flashlight and just a normal guy."
Accidini recalled he was initially 'confused' to find Alex 'in the middle of the night' at 3am.
He then stopped and the pair spoke for 'two minutes' before continuing his work with him, adding: "We talked about his situation. And he told me that he that he was kidnapped by by his mother and grandfather when he was in Morocco six years ago.
"After he go to Spain, where he lived for three years with his mother and after he was in France for two years."
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Accidini recalled Alex, who had been walking for 'four days' before he found him, told the driver he was living in a 'spiritual community'
He continued: "He just wanted to live a normal life, to see his grandmother again and to have a normal future - that's the world that he used."
Addressing Alex, Accidini went on: "I wish you good luck for your future. I hope that you will be a great engineer. I think that he wanted to be an engineer. We talked about it.
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"I hope that your your grandmother will be happy."
Susan Caruana, his grandmother and legal guardian, previously said she thought the group may have settled into 'an alternative lifestyle' somewhere.
She has now confirmed that Alex is safe and said she was 'thrilled' after getting the news that he had finally been found,
Speaking to the Sun, she said: "I am so happy. I have spoken to him and he is well.
"He is currently with the authorities in France. It is such a shock.
"I don't know where his mum is. It is great news. I am just waiting for him to come home - I am thrilled."
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: "This is a complex and long-running investigation, and we need to make further enquiries as well as putting appropriate safeguarding measures in place."
Featured Image Credit: Sky News/PA