Greater Manchester Police have issued a statement about Alex Batty, as the missing boy from Oldham is found safe and well in France.
Alex, who is from Oldham, went missing when he was 11 years old, but was found by a member of the public near Toulouse this week – six years after disappearing.
The teenager had left the UK on 30 September 2017 for a family holiday to Spain. He was with his mother Melanie Batty (43), who did not have parental guardianship, and his grandfather David Batty (64).
Alex Batty didn’t come home from his trip as expected and despite extensive enquiries, remained missing until this week.
GMP has been working closely with the French authorities and with Alex’s family since he was spotted, and have now formally confirmed the 17-year-old to be Alex.
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The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is now working on bringing him safely home to the UK.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said in a statement today: “I think I speak on behalf of the whole of Greater Manchester Police when I say we were relieved and overjoyed to receive news from the French Authorities that they believe Alex Batty had been located safe and well, more than 6 years after his disappearance. This is a huge moment for Alex, for his family and for the community in Oldham.
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“Alex went missing whilst on holiday in 2017 when he was just 11 years old. On Wednesday, a member a public reported a potential sighting in the Toulouse area of France. The young man identified as Alex and was taken to a French police station.
Alex Batty has been found alive and well in Spain as GMP issue a statement. Credit: GMP
“The young man and Alex’s Grandmother spoke on a video call last night and whilst she is content that this is indeed Alex – we obviously have further checks to do when he returns to the country.
“Our main priority now is to see Alex returned home to his family in the UK and our investigation team has been working around the clock with partner agencies to ensure they are fully supported.
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“Alex and his family remain our focus – and we still have some work to do in establishing the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance and where he has been.
“I can only imagine the emotions they have experienced throughout this ordeal. I would ask that they be granted privacy as they come to terms with what has happened and as they try to find a way to move forwards with their lives together.”
Information can also be reported by calling 101 or via GMP’s website: www.gmp.police.uk.
You can also make a report anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Police appeal after thieves steal 800 barrels of Guinness from HGVs in Cheshire
Emily Sergeant
Police in Cheshire are appealing for information after more than 800 barrels of Guinness were stolen.
Cheshire Police explained that, at around 7:45pm on Monday 31 August, a lorry entered an industrial estate in the Aston Lane area of Runcorn. The lorry is then connected to a HGV trailer containing barrels of Guinness, before leaving the site at 7:55pm and driving in the direction of the Mersey Gateway.
Then, at 9:12pm, a second lorry arrived at the same site in a different lorry and connected it to another trailer containing barrels of Guinness. The lorry left the site at around 9:30pm, in the direction of Rainhill and Watkinson Way.
The estimated total value of all the items stolen is approximately £205,000, police confirmed.
According to police, the trailers are described as white Tri-Axle Curtain side trailers with GXO company branding on curtains and rear doors.
The trailers also have unique ID numbers on their rear doors in the top left corner – with the numbers of stolen trucks being DL736 or DL542.
Both HGVs were believed to have been driven by men. The first man is described as white with a short dark beard and wearing a beanie hat, and the second believed to be wearing a cap.
Officers are now appealing to anyone with any information, or dashcam and video footage taken from around the time of the incident, to come forward.
“It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you’, but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,” commented Detective Sergeant McClatchy, from Cheshire Police.
“It is with this in mind that we have wasted no time in launching enquires to identify those responsible for the theft of £115,000 worth Guinness and the two trailers that housed the barrels.
“We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cheshire Police via its website, or by calling 101 and using incident reference number IML-2408641.
Featured Image – Volker Repke (via Unsplash)
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Police seize convoy of supercars after reports of dangerous driving on M62 near Rochdale
Emily Sergeant
A convoy of supercars has been seized by police following reports of dangerous driving on the M66 and M62 near Rochdale.
On Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says its dedicated Roads Policing Unit (RPU) were made aware that a group of individuals driving high-powered vehicles – such as Lamborghinis and Mercedes G-Wagons – were ‘driving dangerously’ at speed, weaving across lanes, wheel spinning, and slowing down to speeds of around 17mph on the motorway.
After finding the convoy of vehicles on the M62, police were able to stop two of Lamborghinis as they were coming off the motorway.
Officers then used specialist tactics to bring the remaining vehicles to a stop in Rochdale.
As a result of police intervention, GMP was able to seize five Lamborghinis and a Mercedes G-Wagon under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002, and on top of this, the drivers of the offending vehicles were prosecuted for a number of driving offences.
Police have seized a convoy of supercars after reports of dangerous driving on the M62 near Rochdale / Credit: GMP | Wikimedia Commons
Chief Inspector Danny Kabal, from GMP’s Transport Policing and Crime command, said the force takes road safety ‘very seriously’.
“We will not tolerate careless, inconsiderate, anti-social or dangerous driving on our roads,” he began.
“Recent changes to Section 59 of the Police Reform Act now enables us to seize vehicles without having to issue a warning first. As we intensify our road safety operations and enforcement campaigns, we will use this legislative change as part of our daily business.
“People who think it is acceptable to use our roads as a racetrack need to pay attention to this result and take it as a warning – they will have their vehicles seized and they will be prosecuted, and where proportionate to do so, they will also be arrested.”
Daisy Jackson -
15th December 2023 
