It looks like Jay Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan has finally been granted access to the cash raised on the Get Jay Slater Home GoFundMe Page, and now has a whopping £36,000 at her disposal.

In the interest of transparency, Debbie has revealed that she is withdrawing some of the cash, and will be spending it on support for the rescuers, food and accommodation – as well as flying out the “loved ones” of the “wonderful people” who had come out to Tenerife to be with her.

Debbie says:

“First, I would like to thank everyone for your support, kind messages, and good wishes.

“It’s difficult to wrap our heads around what is happening right now, but we are not losing hope that we will find Jay and return home together.”

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

“Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses.

“I’m surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but far from their loved ones, so we’ll also be using part of these funds to fly them to Tenerife so we can support each other during these dark times.

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

Well, at least we now know for sure that she’s not spending the money on new shoes and a handbag, and instead will be putting it towards supporting the search & rescue teams and extending the stays of her own family and friends and “supporters”, as well as flying out their own loved ones out to Tenerife. I’m sure people will look at this as Debbie giving out ‘free holidays’, but no doubt everyone connected to Jay is sick with worry and want to be as close to the situation as possible.

It also saves the England supporters from having to watch England play in the next round of the Euros, so a great humanitarian cause all in all.

Debbie and her son’s friends flew out to Tenerife to assist in the search efforts, alongside his ex-girlfriend Jessica Ingham. His dad  has also flown out. I’m not sure they’ll be much use given that mountain rescue experts can’t find him, but I guess every little helps.

Still no breakthroughs in the search for Jay Slater otherwise, so all we can do is hope that there are some positive updates by the end of the week. We’ll keep you posted.

For a look at how Jay Slater’s best pal Lucy managed to raise £36,000 in the first place, click HERE.