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.

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

He spent the following years in isolation before he was spotted by a delivery driver in December 2023 in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the south-west of the country.

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.

His mother, Melanie, who was not his legal guardian and was heavily influenced by conspiracy theories, told him to throw away his passport.

They lived off-grid and he did not attend school.

When he was discovered, he was heading for Toulouse with just a skateboard and €100 in 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.

“I’ve been used to having a job because I started working when I was young,” he told the BBC.

“So, when I couldn’t find one it did not feel right.”

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.

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.

“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.

“It was a lot of pressure when I didn’t have a job because I have a family.

“You’re sitting there doing everything you can but [applications] are all online and you can’t show anyone what you can do.”

He added: “I’ve got a baby and my missus, and without a job there is a pressure to support them financially.

“So it gives us security, and I know I can provide for my family.”

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