Alex Batty's grandmother and legal guardian, Susan Caruana, said she cannot express her "relief and happiness" that Alex has been found.

Ms Caruana held legal guardianship of Alex when he disappeared with his mother Melanie and grandfather David in Spain in October 2017.

Now, after Alex was discovered in the French town of Revel on Wednesday (December 13), Ms Caruana has issued a public statement.

She said: “I cannot begin to express my relief and happiness that Alex has been found safe and well.

“I spoke with him last night and it was so good to hear his voice and see his face again. I can’t wait to see him when we’re reunited.

“The main thing is that he’s safe, after what would be an overwhelming experience for anyone, not least a child.

“I would ask that our family are given privacy as we welcome Alex back, so we can make this process as comforting as possible.”

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Ms Caruana issued multiple public appeals following Alex's disappearance when he was just 11 years old.It is believed that Alex's mother and grandfather abducted him as they wanted him to live an "alternative" lifestyle.

French prosecutors said today (Friday, December 15) that Alex left the community he was living in based in the Pyrenees when he learnt his mother wanted to move to Finland.

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Toulouse Assistant Public Prosecutor Antoine Leroy told reporters Melanie Batty is believed to be in Finland, while it is suspected that David Batty died around six months ago.

Alex was discovered by a delivery driver who spotted him walking along the side of the road and decided to stop for him, before talking him to a police station.

In a press conference on Friday, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes told reporters that Alex was being looked after "really, really well" by French authorities while Ms Caruana had a "whole host of emotions and feelings".