Jay Slater fundraising page hits £70k after his mum appeals for funeral donations

A fundraising page set up after Jay Slater went missing has been boosted by over £10,000 after the teenager's mother appealed for more donations to cover funeral costs. 

With the total sitting at £59,000 on Thursday, Debbie Duncan asked people to "continue to share and support our fundraiser however you can".

"We want to give our boy the send-off he deserves," she said in a statement on the GoFundMe page.

The page has now raised more than £70,000.

The "Get Jay Slater Home" fundraiser was set up soon after he disappeared to help contribute to the family's travel and accommodation expenses while they stayed on the island to look for him.

In her most recent statement, Ms Duncan said the remaining funds and any future donations will be used to pay for repatriating her son's body and paying for the funeral.

Earlier this week, officials in Tenerife confirmed a body found by rescue workers near the village of Masca belonged to the 19-year-old.

They said the multiple injuries he had sustained suggested a fall from a cliff in a rocky area.

Read more:
Inside the ravine where Jay Slater's body was found

How search for missing teenager captured nation's attention

He had attended a music festival in the southern resort of Playa de las Americas on 16 June and was given a lift to the Masca area.

When he spoke to his friend Lucy Law the morning after, he told her he was lost, needed water and his phone was on 1% battery, adding that he planned to walk back to his holiday accommodation in Los Cristianos - a journey of about 11 hours.

After the body was confirmed to be Mr Slater's, Ms Duncan said the family's "hearts are broken", and she "can't believe this could happen to my beautiful boy".

Tributes have been left near the ravine where his body was found, which was the focus of a weeks-long search by rescue teams.