News

Spanish police issue massive appeal for volunteers in search for missing teenager Jay Slater

There is now a huge operation to help find him, with over £40k raised in crowdfunding as well.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 28th June 2024

Spanish police have now issued a massive appeal for volunteers to join the search for British teenager Jay Slater.

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle went missing on Monday last week (17 June) and hasn’t been heard from since around 8am that day after his phone died some 37km away from where he was last seen by friends.

Slater had attended the NRG (New Rave Generation) music festival on the island over the weekend but got separated from his friends and his last location was said to be in the mountainous Rural de Teno park area – a popular hiking trail amongst locals – but authorities haven’t been able to pinpoint him since.

With the youngster missing for nearly 12 days, Spain’s Civil Guard has now been called in to help with the search and police in Tenerife have also urged volunteers to step forward as the search grows increasingly desperate.

A mass operation is now underway to help find Jay Slater and the police chief of the Civil Guard in Tenerfire, Angel Sanz Coronado, said in an official statement that local offers and natives are now on the trail, with specialist search dogs also deployed within the search parties.

“Given that it is a steep, rocky area, full of uneven terrain and with many ravines, tracks and trails”, said Coronado, “we request the collaboration of all those volunteer associations that can help in this planned search that is intended to be carried out in a directed and coordinated way.”

“This massive search will begin on Saturday, 29 June at 09:00 hours. A meeting point will be established at the Mirador de la Cruz de Hilda in Masca to start the search in a logical and orderly way along the many paths and ravines that are found in Masca.”

While many have questioned how Slater, an apprentice brick-layer who was on his first trip abroad, ended up so far away from the Veronica’s Strip in the Playa de Las Americas resort and district of Tenerife, the area’s connection to the local drug scene has also added extra cause for concern.

Jay’s friend, Brad, recently spoke to media reporting from the search area in Tenerife and detailed how the Lancashire teen had strayed from the main path and “didn’t seem concerned” when they last spoke. The rescue crew is now sizeable with more family and friends said to be flying over to help.

Read more:

Slater’s mum, Debbie Duncan, set up a ‘Get Jay Slater Home’ crowdfunder to help generate additional money to be put towards the search efforts, which has now reached well over £40,000.

Describing her son’s disappearance as every parent’s “living nightmare”, she said in an update on the fundraising page: “We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw part of the funds, which are being safely held. I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay” and help cover the expenses of those staying in Tenerife.”

Elsewhere, family friend Rachel Hargreaves, mother of best mate Brad, has condemned the growing trend of online trolling surrounding his disappearance, with countless social media users making jokes and some even reportedly messaging pretending to be Jay and messaging her son “I miss you”.

With people making claims about Slater’s background and drumming up various conspiracy theories, she went on to tell the BBC: “The stuff people have been saying about us is just not true. We are not those kinds of people at all.”

Featured Images — Handout/Facebook

News

Manchester City supporters groups call on club and fellow fans to ‘make their voices heard’

Danny Jones Danny Jones Man City fan groups call for voices to be heard statement on season ticket changes

A collection of Manchester City supporters groups has urged both the club and the fans themselves to “make [their] voice heard” this season, following this year’s protests over the new and “drastic” ticketing policy.

Man City fans gathered both before and after the game against Wolves back in April to make their feeling known regarding season ticket changes.

Appealing to manager Pep Guardiola directly, insisting that he needs their energy to get the kind of “alive” crowds he’s also called for in the past, ‘The 1984’ has now been joined by four other supporters trusts in reaffirming their aims for the new campaign.

Sharing a new joint statement on social media, the five fan groups say that “last season saw unprecedented off-pitch unrest among City fans in the post-Maine Road era”, and the only way to avoid further disruption is to listen and heed their warnings.

Writing on behalf of the aforementioned 1894 group, Canal Street Blues, MCFC Fans Foodbank Support, Solid Citizens, Trade Union Blues and nearly 700 official members, as you can see, they penned a lengthy open letter to the club and the City Football Group (CFG).

“Despite recent success on the field,” they say, “two major in-stadium protests took place, with an estimated 16,000+ fans delaying their entry at the Leicester and Wolves games, and thousands more joining silent protests.

“The triggers were rising ticket prices, season ticket availability, poor supporter engagement (including the Club refusing to meet City Matters on ticket prices for months), and away fans in home sections – often linked to third-party resellers like Viagogo, whose new partnership with the Club proved the breaking point.”

They also conceded that the freeze in the cost of a full season ticket and reduced matchday prices were a welcome breath of fresh air and stirred hope for better fan engagement moving forward.

However, as the statement continues, “Unfortunately, the Club has instead introduced sweeping changes to season ticket terms and conditions, hitting some of our most loyal supporters and damaging long-standing fan culture.”

You can see all of the new and almost universally opposed ticket changes listed in full via bullet points above, but standouts include an unprecedented ’10-game personal attendance policy’ – the first of its kind in English football – stricter ticket transfer rules, and even new facial recognition scanners.

Fan reaction online has been as you would expect; most City supporters are in almost overwhelming agreement with the concerns raised in the latest communication, particularly in the minimum attendance and transfer rules, adding: “the latter directly undermines the stated aim of ‘keeping the stadium full.'”

“There are also fears some of these rules won’t apply equally to hospitality season ticket holders, introducing worries of inequality between fans,” the statement continues.

“These changes create unnecessary workload for ticket office staff, introduce barriers for digitally excluded fans, force some into paid memberships, and erode supporter culture.

“All [the] while, City Matters, our elected Fan Advisory Board, has repeatedly faced delays and broken deadlines for meeting minutes, with the most recent minutes now 59 days overdue from the June meeting. No one wants constant conflict with the Club, but when official channels fail, protest becomes the only option. Last season proved that fan action can drive change.”

“We call on all Blues to:

  • Track and record if and how these changes affect you.
  • Make your voice heard – online, via City Matters, and through fan groups.
  • Join fan groups such as 1894, the Disabled Supporters Association, Canal Street Blues, Trade Union Blues, and your local OSC branch to discuss issues with fellow Blues.”

Read more:

Lastly, they have called on the club to rethink their current policies surrounding personal attendance and ticket transfers, “take a ‘fans first’ approach when it comes to all future policies affecting supporters, engaging in meaningful consultation with fan representatives,” and publish fan meetings “on time.”

What do you make of the supporter groups’ statement and, more importantly, how do you feel about recent changes to season tickets and matchday admission, City fans?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

News

Manchester’s newest bowling venue Wynwood Lanes is giving away 100 FREE sessions on opening week

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

An exciting new bowling venue is opening in Manchester this week, and they’re giving away 100 free bowling sessions to celebrate.

Manchester get ready, as Wynwood Lanes is taking over the legendary Dog Bowl site and giving it a full Miami makeover.

Think five upgraded bowling lanes, pool tables, basketball hoops, sun drenched tunes, poolside cocktails, smoke machines, and a brunch menu from Kong’s NQ that’ll have you salivating before you’ve even sat down.

Wynwood Lanes will be running on a ‘unique’ day-mode and night-mode model.

This means that by day, guests can expect fresh brunch dishes and low-fi tunes, with children welcome until 7pm, and then when it’s in night mode, the Miami heat is turned up with party beats, celebratory smoke machines, late night snacks, and bar games.

Manchester’s newest bowling venue Wynwood Lanes is giving away 100 free sessions on its opening week / Credit: PICRYL | Supplied

As mentioned, fuel for the fun comes from Manchester legends Kong’s NQ, but this time with a Miami twist, so expect Cuban sandwiches, lime chicken avo arepas, tacos galore, and Miami-style brunch plates.

A boozy bottomless brunch will also take every Saturday and Sunday from next Saturday 30 August, with 90 minutes of Miami plates and free-flowing cocktails from £39.50 per person – with the option to upgrade to bowling for just a tenner

With the grand opening date just days away now, Wynwood Lanes wants to start things off with a bang… or you know, a strike.

In a bid to do this, they’ll be giving away free bowling sessions to the first 100 people through the doors on bank holiday Monday (25 August) from midday through to 11pm – with up to six players allowed per group.

Wynwood Lanes is open from 4pm tomorrow (Friday 22 August).

Read more:

Bowling prices will start at £9 (or totally free if you’re one of the first 100 to book for opening weekend), so follow this link to grab access to bowling booking slots when they’re released, and secure your lane before they’re gone.

Featured Image – Pexels

More News

Manchester Pride Mardi Gras stage times 2025

Art & Culture

Manchester Mardi Gras lineup and stage times in full – the ultimate guide to Pride 2025’s new event

Manchester Pride Parade 2025 road closures sign

Art & Culture

Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Pride Parade 2025

Tom Aspinall says no to UFC fight at The White House

Feature

Why you should be glad Tom Aspinall has said no to a UFC fight at The White House

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches