Police close in on small buildings near where Jay Slater’s phone last pinged

Searches for the British teenager appeared to focus on the small area at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park

Efforts appeared to be solely focused on this area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape (PA)

Search teams attempting to locate missing British teenager Jay Slater have narrowed their efforts down to a group of small buildings close to where his phone last pinged in Tenerife.

Officers from the Guardia Civil could be seen circling two structures at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park on Sunday.

Efforts appeared to be solely focused on this area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.

Those conducting the searches on the seventh day of the hunt for Mr Slater could be seen looking into blue barrels outside one of the small buildings.

It comes after the teenager’s mother issued a direct plea to her missing son, saying: “We just need you home.”

Debbie Duncan said she has “not slept” since the 19-year-old disappeared.

Jay Slater and his mother Debbie Duncan (PA/ITN)

She said she did not know whether the Spanish authorities turning down an offer of help from the UK was because they viewed it as “an insult”.

Mr Slater, from the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus, and was last heard from on Monday morning.

He had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance.

The walk from Mr Slater’s last-known location to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.

Asked how the family was coping with the situation, Ms Duncan said: “We’re not. I’m not coping very well at all. I’ve not slept, I’m exhausted. It’s been awful.

“I can’t give up on him, I just can’t.”

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

Questioned on whether Spanish police should have accepted help from the UK force, Ms Duncan said: “I believe they said they’ve got enough resources and they don’t need the help from English police.

“I don’t know if they find it an insult – I really don’t know.

“They say they’ve got enough resources to get on with the investigation... I don’t know, I don’t know.”

Asked if her head was spinning from the past few days, she said: “It is, it is. People say: ‘Yeah, I understand’ – no, you don’t, you don’t understand.”

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

Family friend Rachel Hargreaves said that those close to Mr Slater intend to stay in Tenerife for the time being.

She said: “We’ve got to live in hope, haven’t we? You can’t give up on anything, can you really? We’re here and we’re staying until we’ve got an outcome.”

Addressing the support the family had received from wellwishers, she said: “We’re happy for anyone who wants to help, or anyone with information or anything like that – like I say, we’re still living in hope that we’re going to get a positive outcome.

“We just feel like we’ll leave it to the professionals now, and that’s the best thing to do.”

The NRG festival issued a statement in which it said it was able to “give some practical support” to Mr Slater’s family.

A GoFundMe page for Mr Slater’s family has raised more than £29,000 which will go towards family and friends staying in Tenerife while the hunt continues.