MISSING Alex Batty had so few friends while being dragged around Europe he read each Harry Potter book at least 20 times.
Now 17, he spent six years on the run with mum Melanie, 43, and grandad David, 64 — and never got the chance to go to school.
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Alex who spent time with only one other kid his age, told how JK Rowling’s seven magic novels were his salvation.
He said: “I had a Harry Potter box set. I’m obsessed with it and must have read each of the books at least 20 times.
“I carried it everywhere even though it was massive and took up so much space.
“They’re amazing books. My main pastime was reading because most of the places we were we couldn’t get wifi. I tried to get as many as I could but it was bloody difficult.”
Alex, who left Britain with his mum and grandad in 2017 for what he believed was a week in Spain, also tried to teach himself maths and computer science whenever he could.
However he spent most of his teenage years working “five hours a day, five days a week” in return for food and lodging.
Getting educated was one of the major reasons why he walked out on his mum nearly two weeks ago from a rented house near Chalabre in France.
He told The Sun: “During all my time away I never attended school for a single day.
“The only qualifications I have are my SATs test results from primary school when I lived back in Oldham.
“That’s one of the worst things that’s happened to me throughout all this — not having a proper education.”
Alex did not have his own phone but had access to a PlayStation which his mum bought him during lockdown.
Last year he sailed through the entrance exam to a computer coding school in Perpignan but was unable to enrol because he had no ID papers.
Now back in the UK with his beloved gran Susan, Alex plans to gain as many qualifications as he can so he can study computer science at university.
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Richard Moriarty
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