Man who had skull split in machete gang attack involving Jay Slater urges sleuths to 'help find him'

A man who was brutally attacked by a group of eight thugs - including Jay Slater - has urged internet sleuths to 'have some respect' and help find the missing teen.

Tom Hilton had his skull split after he was attacked with a machete, golf clubs and an axe in Rishton, Lancashire in 2021.

After Spanish press uncovered that Jay had been involved in the callous attack, it was revealed that detectives in Tenerife were investigating whether his disappearance was linked to his criminal past, reports the MailOnline.

The 19-year-old bricklayer vanished last Monday morning after attending a three day rave with pals in Tenerife. It is understood he jetted off to Tenerife after completing his sentence for his part in the vicious attack.

Details of Mr Hilton's attack were widely shared online, with various trolls on social media describing Jay's disappearance as 'karma'. However, in a Facebook post victim Mr Hilton, urged members of the public to 'have some respect'.

He penned: "Whoever is writing on these TikToks, give it a rest. This young lad's missing and his family's heartbroken.

"Put yourself in their shoes. Stop talking nonsense on social media and get this lad found, mentioning my name all this and that. Have some respect and help find this boy and get him back to his family."

Mr Hilton was left with serious wounds to his skull, shoulders and legs in the shocking attack.

In court he described the gang as a 'pack of wolves' and said he was forced to run for his life through nearby woods before they caught up with him.

We previously reported how throughout the case all eight laughed and joked with Judge Philip Parry telling Preston Crown Court they had found the trial 'amusing'.

Judge Parry said: "I make it very, very clear that all eight of you have behaved disgracefully, in relation to the violent disorder but also intimidation of witnesses, supply of class A drugs and street robbery. You should all eight be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves but I am not at all convinced you are.

"Many of you have found these proceedings amusing throughout the trial and yesterday and today, showing disrespect to the court. I hope for the sake of all your families, the public and the people who have offered you jobs and apprenticeships and the sort that you all grow up. Every one of you deserves to be sent to youth detention.

"Some of you played a more active role in the violent disorder than others, some of you carried weapons, some wore balaclavas but the seriousness of this is the group nature of it. As a group you were all more threatening than you would have been as individuals."

The judge said if the group had been convicted of the more serious charge of section 18 wounding, they would all have gone to youth custody.

However, he said he took a rehabilitative approach when sentencing them for violent disorder and further offences including witness intimidation, attempted robbery and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

He told them: "Today is going to be a life changing or life defining event for you all. You all have a chance to go into a lawful and law abiding direction. I can almost feel the sense of relief from your families and supporters in the public gallery who all expected you to go to custody today. As I said earlier, you all richly deserve to."

The boys were subsequently sentenced to violent disorder and further offences including witness intimidation, attempted robbery and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Jay was issued an 18-month community order with 25 days rehabilitation activities and 150 hours unpaid work for violent disorder.

Details of his violent past were reported by the Spanish press, describing in detail Jay's previous court case, adding that he had a 'black mark in his past'.

Jay's past has led to various amateur sleuths and psychics spreading rumours online about his disappearance - including the shocking idea that he faked his disappearance to steal the GoFundMe cash.

Other trolls have even suggested that he has been kidnapped after a drug deal went wrong, with criminal forces holding him hostage to pay back the debt.

The speculation was fuelled further soon after he vanished when Jay's mother, school finance officer Debbie Duncan, 55, was sent a menacing Snapchat message that read: 'Kiss goodbye to your boy, you're never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.'

Spanish police have confirmed that they're not 'ruling anything out' - and a source told MailOnline: "In cases of missing people it's natural to investigate their background in case it's relevant to the hunt.

"This case is unusual as it's been a week and there has been no sighting or leads on him at all and searches have thrown up no clues.

"We have to consider the possibility of something else happening."

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