Police check DNA of man claiming to be Ben Needham

Ben Needham has been missing since July 1991

Police are investigating reports that a man claiming to be Ben Needham, who disappeared on the Greek island of Kos in 1991, has come forward to authorities in Denmark.

The news comes 33 years to the day of his disappearance on 24 July.

Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he vanished from a farmhouse, which his grandfather was renovating, in the village of Iraklis.

South Yorkshire Police said the man's DNA had been tested and would be compared to a sample held by the force "to provide Ben's family with a definitive answer".

A force spokesperson said: "Whist South Yorkshire Police has no jurisdiction in Greece, we are keen to support Greek authorities and Ben’s family in any way we can and a senior investigating officer remains in contact with Greek counterparts.

"Our thoughts are with Ben’s family who have never given up hope of discovering the truth of what happened on 24 July 1991 and we will continue to support them in that endeavour."

In 2016 the force said it believed Ben was killed accidentally while he was playing.

His mother Kerry has previously said she still believes her son is alive and was abducted.

South Yorkshire Police forensic officers carried out excavation work in Kos in 2016

Last year police confirmed the body of a boy found in a river in Germany was not that of Ben, who would now be 34.

An extensive search of the farmhouse and nearby land took place in 2017, but provided no definitive answers for his family.

Ben vanished after travelling to the island with his mother and grandparents, who were renovating a run-down farmhouse building.

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