Jay Slater was ambushed and beaten up by gang members when he was 12 years-old, it has been revealed.
The 19-year-old, who is still missing in Tenerife, was left “shaken up” after the traumatic attack in November 2017.
The three men jumped out of a car and targeted Jay and his friend before witnesses intervened.
Jay’s mum, Debbie Duncan, told LancsLive: “He was really shook up and had a massive lump on his head. He said they were kicking them when they were on the ground.”
Debbie described how she feared Jay had been taken by the men, when in fact the then 12 year old was hiding under a car.
She continued: “They rang me to say Jay had been attacked and they think they’ve taken him in a car. I was hysterical on the end of the phone.
“People are saying there are gangs of youths in Oswaldtwistle, but I know Jay wasn’t involved in that. He had only been out of the house for about half an hour.”
This incident came four years before Jay was part of a group that attacked Tom Hilton with a machete, golf clubs and an axe.
Tom, 17 years old at the time, had horrific wounds on his shoulders and legs. His skull was also exposed as a result of the injuries.
Jay was given an 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid work.
Despite the attack, Tom has publicly backed the search for Jay as the apprentice bricklayer remains missing 10 days after he disappeared in Tenerife.
Jay disappeared after attending a music festival. He left with two men, who took him to an Airbnb near the village of Masca.
The teenager was seen setting off on foot the next morning. He called his friend Lucy at 8:50am, telling her he had low phone battery and needed water. This was the last anyone has heard from Jay.
Jay’s mum has now said that she is withdrawing some of the funds from the GoFundMe page for Jay, which hs raised £36,000 so far.
She said the cash will be used to fly out the “loved ones” of the “wonderful people” out in Tenerife to support her. Speaking to Sky News, Debbie praised the Spanish police for their efforts in the search for Jay.
She said: “I have every faith in them down on the ground and the amazing searches they are carrying out along with more amazing guys up there.
“As a family we are in a living nightmare. We have no further updates other than Jay is still missing and we are just ignoring the social media side of things.”