Jay Slater's family stop donations on fundraiser

The family of British teenager Jay Slater, who died while on holiday in Tenerife, have stopped donations on the fundraising page set up after his disappearance.

The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, fell to his death after getting lost in a mountainous area on 17 June.

His disappearance led to a major search by Spanish authorities and widespread publicity until his body was found a month later.

Mr Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan issued a post on the Gofundme page, which raised £72,821, saying: "Donations will be turned off with this final message."

She added: "Our journey is far from over but the burdens eased with your support."

Ms Duncan said the funds had been used for their travel and residence in Tenerife until they could return her son's body to the UK.

"We were able to fund the the Signi search team from the Netherlands who supported us throughout the days when Jay was found," she said.

About 500 people attended his funeral in August, with Ms Duncan saying: "Jay truly deserved the send-off we were able to give him and we thank you all for that."

Mr Slater, who worked as an apprentice bricklayer, had been on his first holiday abroad without his parents to attend the NRG music festival at the tourist hotspot of Playa de las Americas in June.

He then travelled with two men he met at the event, who drove him to their Airbnb in the Rural de Teno national park.

Both men, who were spoken to by Spanish police, were ruled as "irrelevant" to the investigation into Mr Slater's disappearance.

The teenager left the accommodation on the morning of 17 June and walked for about half an hour before calling a friend to say he was lost, thirsty and had 1% battery on his phone.

A post-mortem examination later revealed his body had injuries consistent with a fall from height onto rocky ground.

Ms Duncan said: "We lost our beautiful boy in extremely tragic circumstances whilst the world watched.

"We do not and will never understand how Jay's story reached every corner of the globe."

Mr Slater's disappearance drew intense speculation and conspiracy theories, with his family and friends also becoming subject to online abuse.

Although there was no live stream for the funeral service, several social media accounts offered access to a fake stream in exchange for likes and money as part of a scam.

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