When he was discovered, he was heading for Toulouse with just a skateboard and €100 in cash.
Alex returned to live with his grandmother Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, in Oldham shortly afterwards, but found himself out of work for a long time.
“I’ve been used to having a job because I started working when I was young,” he told the .
“So, when I couldn’t find one it did not feel right.”
When Batty appeared on Breakfast to discuss his abduction, he revealed he was one of 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training.
Daniel Carolan, a manager at SUEZ UK, happened to be listening to the interview and ended up reaching out.