Jay Slater’s body returns to UK as mum makes touching request

Funeral plans for the teenager have been revealed

Jay Slater’s mum has revealed her son has returned to the UK as plans for his funeral were revealed. Jay was attending a music festival in Tenerife with friends Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves before he disappeared on Monday, June 17.

On the evening of June 16, Jay spent the night partying at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas. He later travelled to the remote village of Masca to the apartment. He disappeared after leaving the £40-a-night Airbnb, leading to a massive four-week search, The Mirror reports.

A body was found on July 15 which was later confirmed to be Jay. His body remained in Spain for a preliminary autopsy before being repatriated to the UK. Earlier this week, Debbie Duncan made the heartbreaking journey home from Tenerife to Manchester Airport, alongside Jay’s dad Warren, 58, and brother Zak, 24.

READ MORE: ‘Nazis burn books – these have gone one step further and burnt a library’READ MORE: ‘Southport stronger together’ – a town united in grief rejects division

Debbie is now planning the 19-year-old’s funeral, which will be held next Saturday at Accrington Cemetery Chapel, with mourners asked to wear something blue in his memory. An obituary released on behalf of Jay’s family, said: “After Jay left Rhyddings High School he went on to become an apprentice bricklayer with the PH Build group, a job he greatly enjoyed.

“At the young age of 5 Jay started playing football for Huncoat United FC until the age of 17 and also did a few seasons with the Sunday team at St Joseph’s too. He also loved spending time chilling out with his friends. Jay’s love of music and dance started at a very young age. He loved attending music festivals and events across the country and also loved to socialise and meet new people.

“A loving son of Debbie and Warren, a cherished brother of Zak and brother-in-law of Jessica, a treasured grandson of Dawn, June and the late Dougie, a much loved nephew of Glen and Katie, a dear cousin of Maddie and Tillie and a loyal friend to many. Jay will be very sadly missed by all those who knew him.”

Debbie has pledged to give her boy the send-off he deserves and is planning to use part of the £74,156 raised by well-wishers to pay for the ceremony. The rest of the money will go towards the cost of his repatriation, as well as costs incurred by his family and friends, who flew out to the Spanish island to join the search.

They include accommodation, travel and other fees for them, as well as for professional searchers, including one team that flew from the Netherlands. Jay’s body was discovered in an area, described by police as inaccessible, in mountains in north-west Tenerife, on July 15, before being airlifted out by helicopter following a 29-day search.

Jay’s disappearance gripped Britain for almost a month, leading to wild speculation and conspiracy theories on social media. Rumours also raged after it was claimed Jay had stolen a £12,000 Rolex watch shortly before his disappearance and that he was scared as he left the rental apartment, which had been rented by convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim and a pal calling himself “Rocky”, who police ruled were “irrelevant” to their investigation.

It is understood Jay died immediately. Matt Searle, of LBT Global, the missing persons charity that helped the family repatriate Jay’s body, said: “The family of tragic Brit Jay Slater returned to the UK last week, on the same day that Jay’s body was repatriated.

“A UK post mortem was ordered by the coroner, and this concluded that Jay’s death was caused by traumatic head injuries, consistent with the fall from height. The report also highlighted that his death would have been instantaneous.”

The family have asked for family flowers only, adding that if anyone would like to bring a single rose to place with Jay, they are more than welcome. They have requested people donate in lieu of flowers to LBT Global via a specially built page here.