The absence of Jay Slater’s mother issues a direct “we just need you home” plea.

The mother of missing Lancashire teenager Jay Slater has made a direct appeal to her missing son. She spoke on the sixth day of the hunt for her 19-year-old son, saying: “We just need you at home.”

Debbie Duncan told the PA news agency that she “hasn’t slept” since her son disappeared on the Canary island of Tenerife. She said she did not know whether the Spanish authorities had rejected an offer of help from the UK because they considered it “an insult”.

Mr Slater went missing after trying to return to his home after missing a bus and was last heard from on Monday morning. He attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance.

Asked how the family was dealing with the situation, Mrs Duncan, who is from Oswaldtwistle, told the PA: “We’re not. I’m not doing well at all. I did not sleep,

“I’m exhausted. It’s been awful. I can’t give it up, I just can’t.”

Lancashire Constabulary said it had made “an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need additional resources”, which was rejected by the Spanish authorities.

Asked if the Spanish police should have accepted the help of British forces, Ms Duncan said: “I think they said they had enough resources and they didn’t need the help of the English police. I don’t know if they consider it an insult – I really don’t. really do not know.

“They say they have enough resources to continue with the investigation… I don’t know, I don’t know.”

Asked if she’s been dizzy for the past few days, she said: “It is, it is. People say, ‘Yes, I understand’ – no, no, you don’t.”

Speaking about what message she would have for her son, Mrs Duncan added: “We just need you home – we just need him home.”