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MISSING teen Alex Batty has celebrated Christmas properly for the first time in six years — and toasted his new-found freedom with his beloved Irn-Bru.
His overjoyed gran Susan Cuarana, 68, said she was having the “best Christmas ever” a week after the lad’s shock return from France.
She gave Alex, 17, a big warm hug as they celebrated the festive season together for the first time since 2017.
Susan is Alex’s legal guardian but his mum Melanie and grandad David took him on holiday to Spain six years ago — and never returned.
Alex finally fled the family’s hippy lifestyle in France this month before his emotional reunion with his gran.
And Alex was thrilled to get a Christmas gift of 24 cans of his favourite orange fizzy drink and bags of crisps which he missed when he was being dragged round Europe.
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.”
Susan told how she had never felt able to celebrate Christmas Day after falling into a deep depression since Alex failed to return from Spain.
But they were reunited after Alex was spotted by a delivery driver walking along a rural road at 3am on December 13 close to Camon, 65 miles south of Toulouse.
The lad — keen to get a proper education — was taken to a police station before flying home to Oldham — 2,269 days after Susan last saw him.
She told The Sun: “I still can’t quite believe Alex is home. I have to pinch myself. When he disappeared I thought I’d never see him again and it’s taking some getting used to waking up in the morning and having him in the house.
“Until a week ago, I was gearing myself up for another heartbreaking Christmas without him and to have him here celebrating with us is absolutely amazing.”
Alex, who is now preparing to start college next month, said he too had loved his first proper Christmas since he went missing.
He said: “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.”
Among Alex’s other gifts were a new phone and headphones, an Alexa device, a sketch pad and colouring pencils and a water bottle.
He also got tickets to see his beloved Man United take on Aston Villa.
The whereabouts of Alex’s mum Melanie, 43, and grandad David, 64, are unknown after she left a rented house in the village of Villefort when her son was found.
The Huddersfield University law graduate is believed to be travelling in France in a small white car which belongs to a man called Fabrizio, described as her boyfriend and “disciple”.
Gtr Manchester Police said last week it had launched a criminal investigation into Alex’s alleged abduction.
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