Danish man ruled out of Ben Needham enquiry after DNA test

A man who claimed he could be missing Ben Needham has been ruled out of police enquiries following DNA tests.

Ben, who was from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he went missing from the Greek island of Kos in July 1991.

South Yorkshire Police were alerted in July after a man came forward to authorities in Denmark, where he was living, to say he believed he was Ben.

A force spokesperson said: "As with every report of this nature, a DNA test was taken and compared to the DNA sample held by South Yorkshire Police.

"The DNA sample taken from the man did not match that of Ben Needham."

Ben was playing outside a farmhouse being renovated by his grandfather in the village of Irakles when he vanished.

His family, including Kerry's parents and two brothers, had moved to the island earlier in the year to start a new life.

There has been no sign of the toddler since, despite a major investigation. Two major excavations around the farmhouse in 2012 and 2016 found no definitive proof of what happened.

A number of people have since made unfounded claims that they could be Ben.

Speaking to ITV News in July, Kerry Needham said: ""t is very, very hard because you want it to be [Ben] so badly. It's something we've done for 33 years so I suppose people think you get used to it but you don't."

Following the latest developments, the South Yorkshire Police spokesperson added: "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."