Machete attack victim Jay Slater hits out at TikTok trolls, urges them to help find teen

A man whose skull was “cut open” in a machete attack by a gang including Jay Slater has broken his silence over the desperate search for the missing teenager in Tenerife.

The missing man, aged 19, was part of a group of eight people who attacked Tom Hilton, then aged 17, with a machete, golf clubs and an ax in Rishton, Lancashire, in 2021.

The apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle, was given an 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid work for his role in the violent disorder.

He then went on holiday to Tenerife after serving most of his sentence. Many online trolls pointed out his role in the attack and called his disappearance “karma.”

But on Facebook, gang victim Tom Hilton defended Mr Slater.

In a now-deleted post, he said: “Whoever writes on these TikToks, let him rest. This young boy is missing and his family is heartbroken.

“Put yourself in their place. Stop talking stupid things on social media and find this boy by mentioning my name all this and that. Have some respect and help find this boy and return him to his family.

Mr Hilton was left with parts of his skull exposed as well as serious injuries to his shoulders and legs, with the defendants laughing and joking with each other at Preston Crown Court.

A judge at the time described the gang as acting like a “pack of wolves”, forcing their teenage victim to run for his life through nearby woods.

El Dia, a local newspaper in the Canary Islands, ran the headline: “The past of the young Briton who disappeared in Tenerife. Slater beat a teenager with seven others.”

As the search for Mr Slater enters its second week, the newspaper highlighted the attack as a “black mark in his past”.

Conspiracy theories spread on social media after his mother Debbie Duncan reported receiving a message on Snapchat, which warned: “Say goodbye to your boy, you will never see him again, he owes me a lot of money.” money. »

She was forced to hit out at criticism over a fundraising page set up which has £36,000 to help in the desperate search for her son, warning: “This can happen to you”.

Debbie Duncan said the total raised from more than 3,200 individual donations will be used to support mountain rescue teams and to cover her own accommodation, food and flights for her “loved ones”.

In an update on Thursday, Ms Duncan said: “Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for your support, kind messages and well wishes. It's hard to understand what's happening right now, but we don't give up hope that we'll find Jay and go home together.

“We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw a portion of the funds, which are being held securely. I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.

“In addition, as our stay in Tenerife is to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food costs. I am surrounded by amazing people who are by my side, but away from their loved ones, which is why we will also use part of these funds to transport them to Tenerife so that we can support each other during these dark times.

“Thank you again for all your donations and support, it means the world to us.”