A family friend of Jay Slater has slammed a vile internet troll who set up a bogus Facebook account in her name claiming the teenager had been found dead.

Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, was last heard from more than eight days ago, when he disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus on holiday in Tenerife.

Before his disappearance, he had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends.

His friend's mother and an admin of the official 'Jay Slater - Missing' Facebook group, Rachel Hargreaves, has been active in posting updates and messages in the group which now has half a million members. 

Rachel posted that someone had seemingly created a Facebook profile under her name and a screen shot - shared by a user named 'theinfoguy2' - had gone viral on TikTok.

It said: "Jay's body has been found. Our hearts are with their family in these evil times, we've heard from locals that it was the job of the Moroccans."

Rachel's real Facebook posted a screenshot of the TikTok into the group and said: "This isn't me! This is NOT true."

(Image: Facebook)

She is also one of the admins of a GoFundMe page for Jay, that is currently at £35,016.

Another Facebook user posted a video of Rachel 'partying on a boat', saying that it was a recent video after she had helped raise over £31,000 from the GoFundMe.

Rachel posted a screenshot of the video and wrote: "This is another horrible lie about myself.

"Firstly, this isn’t me. I took the video on my last holiday on a boat trip. The lady in this video, I don’t know, it was just me videoing the trip [that] I was on with my family.

"Secondly, this was when I went to Turkey in April. Someone stole [this clip] and said I am in Tenerife partying.

"I am here, looking for my son's best friend, not partying, if anyone did see this. Absolutely heartbroken. It was a previous holiday."

(Image: Facebook)

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

The statement read: “That such a devastating situation has arisen has deeply affected us all.

“We have been able to give some practical support to the members of Jay’s family who have come to Tenerife in such difficult circumstances, and we are inspired by their resilience and determination.”

Search teams in Tenerife narrowed their efforts over the weekend on small buildings close to where his phone last pinged.

Officers from the Guardia Civil in the Canary Islands 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 the one area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.

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

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

Jay was last seen wearing a grey T-shirt with shorts and trainers, and carrying a black bag.