As the search continues for missing Jay Slater, members of the local community rallied at a church event as his friends hoped for the return of the British teen they described as the “life and soul of the party”.
The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, was on holiday in Tenerife with friends when he went missing on Monday.
At a church in his home town, locals used blue ribbons to mark a service of hope as they left messages to the missing teen.
Image: People wore or put up blue ribbons to show hope the teenager would be found
Image: Members of the local community left messages
Image: The local community in Mr Slater’s village rallied at a local event in a church as the search for him continues
Two friends, speaking to Sky News, also shared stories of the teen they hoped would soon be found.
One friend of Mr Slater’s said: “We’ve known him for a long time. We’re always out with him. He’s the life and soul of the party.
“Everywhere you see him he’s just constantly got a smile on his face. He’s always just a happy chap.”
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“He’s just one of a kind really,” they added.
Image: Mr Slater’s stepdad left a message for the teen
Image: Mr Slater’s dog Buster
Image: Jay Slater, 19, was last heard from on Monday morning. Pic: Facebook/Rach Louise Harg
They continued: “I don’t think you could walk through any street [in Oswaldtwistle] and someone would say they don’t know him. He’s just constantly happy wherever you see him, no matter what.
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“He’s just always got a smile on his face. Hopefully, someone somewhere knows something and hopefully he can get found.”
A second friend told Sky News: “I can’t hope enough, I literally can’t. It’s been on my mind since Monday morning.
“I just can’t seem to understand why this has happened to him and why no-one has heard anything. It’s crazy, I’m lost for words.”
The friend continued: “We feel like we can’t do anything about it because we’re over here and he’s over there. If we could get a flight tomorrow we would do.”
Image: Candles were lit in the service of hope as the search for the teen continues
Image: West End Methodist Church, in Oswaldtwistle, opened its doors to members of the public to share their hope the teen would be found
West End Methodist Church, in Oswaldtwistle, opened its doors for an hour on Thursday evening for friends, family members and people from the local community to show their support for the search.
Mr Slater’s stepdad, Andy, was present at the church with the teenager’s dog Buster.
He signed a message of hope “come home soon Jay” from them both.
Image: Reverend Matt Smith
Reverend Matt Smith told Sky News: “You can see with the ribbons and everything that is coming out that everyone is really tight here.
“There are things on Facebook coming out as well just wanting us to do something to allow them to come and share their respects and their prayers and their well-wishes to the family and show that we want Jay to come home.”
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He continued: “Over the few days as we’ve realised he hasn’t been found, that actually we’re getting more and more worried about what’s happened to him, and the family going out there and responding in that way as well.
“The community are just coming together to support each other and it’s just really important to have each other’s backs when that happens and to take care of each other.”
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The US president has introduced a 25% levy on all foreign cars imported into the country, which came into force on Thursday.
JLR, one of the country’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.
In a statement on Saturday, a spokesperson for the company behind the Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover brands said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.
“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
The company released a statement last week before Mr Trump announced a “baseline” 10% tariff on goods from around the world, which kicked in on Saturday morning, on what he called “liberation day”.
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JLR reassured customers its business was “resilient” and “accustomed to changing market conditions”.
“Our priorities now are delivering for our clients around the world and addressing these new US trading terms,” the firm said.
Trading across the world has been hit by Mr Trump’s tariff announcement at the White House on Wednesday.
All but one stock on the FTSE 100 fell on Friday – with Rolls-Royce, banks and miners among those to suffer the sharpest losses.
Cars are the top product exported from the UK to the US, with exports worth £8.3bn in the year to the end of September 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
For UK carmakers, the US is the second largest export market behind the European Union.
Industry groups have previously warned the tariffs will force firms to rethink where they trade, while a report by thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research said more than 25,000 car manufacturing jobs in the UK could be at risk.
Two people have died following a fire at a caravan site near Skegness, Lincolnshire Police have said.
In a statement, officers said they were called at 3.53am on Saturday to a report of a blaze at Golden Beach Holiday Park in the village of Ingoldmells.
Fire and rescue crews attended the scene, and two people were found to have died.
They were reported to be a 10-year-old girl and a 48-year-old man.
The force said the victims’ next of kin have been informed and will be supported by specially trained officers.
Officers are trying to establish the exact cause of the blaze.
“We are at the very early stages of our investigation and as such we are keeping an open mind,” the force said.
A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.
Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.
The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.
“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.
The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.
In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.
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Image: Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon
Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.
The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.
It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”
Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.