First pictures of Alex Batty living ‘in plain-sight’ in France. British 17-year-old is seen cycling, visiting a school and using a computer while living under a fake name

These are the first photos of teenager Alex Batty in France 'living in plain sight'.

The photos show a smiling Alex, 17, visiting a school, cycling along a disused railway line and sitting in front of a computer screen.

They come after the missing boy spoke for the first time about his 'off-grid lifestyle' for the past six years after he disappeared with his mother Melanie and grandfather David.

Speaking to The Sun earlier this week, he said of his mother: 'She's a wonderful person and I love her, but she's just not a great mother.'

The photos, obtained exclusively by MailOnline, come from Frederic Hambye and Ingrid Beauve, owners of a French farm called Gite de la Bastide, where Alex stayed during the time he went missing abroad.

He is also seen enrolling in an IT school in south-eastern France, amazingly giving his real name

The photos, obtained exclusively by MailOnline, come from Frederic Hambye and Ingrid Beauve, owners of a French farm called Gite de la Bastide. Alex is pictured here cycling

One was taken in June at a prestigious secondary IT school in Perpignan, south-east France, where computer enthusiast Alex tried to enroll as a student, astonishingly giving his real name.

Teachers at Ecole 42 were so impressed that he passed his online application, but alarm bells went off when he gave them the fake name Zack Edwards – and when he finally gave his real name, stunned staff discovered who he was by googling him.

Director Gero Vigney realized he was wanted and alerted the police, but they did nothing. He said: 'When I arrived at the police station it was in the middle of a national police strike so I was asked to return at 3pm.

“I think everyone has been faced with a situation they shouldn't be in, but it annoyed me a little bit because we were taking in a minor who had been missing for six years.”

He added: “I gave him (police officer) all the information, even the address of the lodge where he was staying with the woman who had accompanied him.

Speaking to The Sun earlier this week, he said of his mother: 'She's a wonderful person and I love her but she's just not a great mother.'

Alex, from Oldham, was 11 when he failed to return from a holiday to Spain

'I was told the investigation was ongoing and that we would be kept informed, but we have not heard anything since July.'

Frederic and Ingrid told MailOnline how they were 'delighted' to take in Alex, who they knew as Zach, and often stayed on their farm with his grandfather, who they knew as Peter.

They arrived in the summer of 2023 and stayed 'on and off' for several months, doing odd jobs in exchange for room and board, while mother Melanie was never seen.

Ingrid told MailOnline: 'Zach or Alex had a great time staying with us, he had a room to himself, said he had access to the internet and could come and go as he pleased.

Alex Batty (pictured left) with his mother Melanie and grandfather David six years ago

Alex is pictured with his mother and grandfather after he was reportedly kidnapped when he was eleven

Melanie Batty sits next to her father David Batty and her son Alex Batty (far left) at a market in June 2023

'Over the summer he was with us and he wanted to go to a local school and we encouraged him to do that but he needed identity papers for that and he said he would find a way to get back to Britain to get them to get.

'He left us earlier this month and said he was going back to Britain to pick them up, and then we saw his face all over the media. We both want to wish him the best and are happy that he is back with his real family.

'He's 17 and full of plans, and now he can finally make them happen. We wouldn't change anything that happened during the time we had with him and now that the stress is behind us, our hearts are bursting with joy for him.”

Alex flew back to Manchester last weekend and is now being cared for by his grandmother Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, after six years 'wandering' around Europe in what he described as a 'pain the axx lifestyle'.

He told The Sun how his mother would leave him for 'months at a time' and he ended up walking 22 miles for two days earlier this month before being spotted by a delivery man who picked him up and then alerted police.

On Friday, Greater Manchester Police said they had launched a criminal investigation into his disappearance during a holiday to Spain with his mother and grandfather in 2017 and that he had been interviewed by officers.

In interviews with The Sun, Alex has revealed that he lied about some details of his escape to 'protect my mum and granddad, but I realize they'll probably get caught anyway'.

French authorities said they believed his grandfather was dead, but MailOnline has established he is very much alive and was seen 'mowing the lawn' in a Pyrenees village earlier this month.