Devastated mum of teenager Jay Slater missing in Tenerife plagued by 'sickening' prank calls

The devastated mum of teenager Jay Slater who is currently missing in Tenerife has been plagued by 'sickening' prank callers claiming to have her son.

Jay Slater had travelled to the Spanish island with friends Lucy and Brad to attend a music festival. On Sunday night (June 16), 19-year-old Jay, an apprentice bricklayer, decided to stay out after meeting some new friends while his pals went back to their apartment.

The next morning, at around 8.15am on Monday, Lucy received a call from Jay in which he said he had missed a bus back but was going to make the 11-hour walk back to their resort. She said Jay only had one per cent battery left on his phone and his mobile died with his last known location showing him in 'the middle of the mountains'.

You can follow live updates on the search here.

READ MORE Police knocked on Jay Slater's mum's door at 2am and said "you best go to Tenerife"

His mum Debbie, who has since flown out to Tenerife to assist with the search, being carried out by mountain rescue teams and the Civil Guard, has revealed she has been receiving 'horrible' calls from trolls.

She claimed that Brits with 'northern accents' had been phoning her with hidden numbers and claiming they had her son captive and were keeping him because he owed them money.

She said: “Some of the phone calls I’ve been getting have been horrible. I just don’t know why people would want to do things like this. I’ve been getting lots of prank calls. It’s sickening. People ringing me and saying they’ve got Jay because he owes them money.

“But it’s not putting me off and I want to keep this in the news because it’s going to increase the chances of Jay being found safe and well which is obviously what we’re praying for.”

A desperate search is currently underway to find Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, near the village of Masca, in the Parque Rural de Teno.

Speaking from the south of the island where her son had been staying, Debbie added: “I’m obviously beside myself with worry which is why I’ve flown out here with my eldest son to do anything we can to help. We’re just praying the police or someone finds Jay. I know there’s a mountain rescue team out and a helicopter.

“Nothing’s ever going to be enough when your youngest son’s gone missing but it sounds as if the police here are taking this very seriously and doing the best job they can.”