Ben Needham case DNA test man 'bears similarities'

A poster of Ben Needham as he may look now has been issued

A DNA test has been carried out on a man in Cyprus in an attempt to establish if he could be Ben Needham, who disappeared as a toddler in 1991.

The Needham family said the man spoke to police after footage of a man who resembled a computer-generated image of how Ben might look now was released.

Ben's sister Leighanna Needham told the BBC the man in the video had "uncanny similarities" to her family.

The result of the DNA test is expected on Wednesday.

Ben, who will turn 24 on Tuesday and is from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, vanished when he was 21 months old while on holiday on the Greek island of Kos.

'Willingly given DNA'

His mother Kerry has always maintained her son is alive and was probably abducted.

She said last week that the discovery of a blonde girl called Maria at a Greek Roma camp had given her family "fresh hope and maximum publicity".

Police have given the Needhams a copy of the video

Leighanna said they were informed by Greek police about a video handed to them showing a man with a group of Roma people in Limassol, Cyprus.

"From what we can see, he has similarities to what we think Ben would look like and the age progression photograph we had done," she said.

A statement from Kerry posted on the Help Find Ben Needham Facebook page said: "I have just heard from Greece that the young man in the video has handed himself in to Greek authorities.

"He claims he is Romanian and was working in Limassol.

"The gypsies who were in his company are his girlfriend's family, as she is Roma. He has willingly given DNA, so we are waiting on a result."