Teenager Alex Batty has said he loved the cold weather and rain after celebrating his first Christmas back in England.

In an interview with The Sun, the 17-year-old said he received cans of Irn-Bru and tickets to watch Manchester United play Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Boxing Day among his presents.

Alex went missing aged 11 in 2017 after his mother, who was not his legal guardian, took him on a pre-arranged trip to Spain with his grandfather.

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He returned to the UK on December 16 having been found by student Fabien Accidini near the French city of Toulouse after walking across the Pyrenees, trekking for 70 miles over two days and sleeping outside on the ground in ‘freezing conditions’.

Family court judge Sarah Singleton KC said Alex was ‘fearful of the glare of publicity’ around his circumstances.

Asked about his Christmas Day, Alex told The Sun: “When I was away, we never really celebrated Christmas because we were always on the move.

“It’s so nice to go to bed at night and wake up in the same place in the morning.

“I am loving the cold weather and the rain as well.”

According to the Sun, Alex received 24 cans of Irn-Bru, a new phone, headphones, an Alexa smart speaker, a sketch pad, coloured pencils, a water bottle, Worcestershire Sauce crisps, and the Manchester United tickets.

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Alex said some of his Christmas presents reminded him of his life before he went missing six years ago.

He said: “I loved Irn-Bru when I was little and used to get some from the corner shop whenever I could. The same for Worcestershire sauce-flavoured crisps.

“So, my gran surprised me by tracking down a massive pack of cans and a couple of family-sized bags of crisps.

“I could have just tucked into them for Christmas dinner.”

Greater Manchester Police confirmed on Friday a criminal investigation had been launched into Alex’s alleged abduction.

Officers in the UK interviewed the teenager, who is back with his grandmother Susan Caruana, from Oldham, who has legal guardianship.

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