They were nice see the boy and... we'd say hello

PEOPLE living in a tiny French village have been left in shock after finding out missing British boy Alex Batty had been living among them.

- By RYAN MERRIFIELD AND ASHLIE BLAKEY

Alex, from Oldham, was found in France six years after he vanished.

The now 17-year-old went missing aged 11 after his mother, who was not his legal guardian, took him on a pre-arranged trip to Spain with his grandfather.

Last week, he was picked up by a lorry driver after being found walking across the Pyrenees. He has since been reunited with his grandmother, and legal guardian, Susan Caruana, at home in Oldham and Gran Carua told reporters he is 'glad to be home for Christmas'

A French deputy prosecutor said it's believed he spent two of the six years he was missing in France, first staying in Camps-sur-l'Agly which has just a few dozen people living there, The Mirror reports.

Residents in the mountainous village in the foothills of the Pyrenees knew Alex as 'Zach' and had 'no idea' who he really was.

Frederic Hambye and Ingrid Beauve - two Belgian nationals who own the La Bastide guesthouse said Alex first stayed with them in late 2021 and 'liked to cook'