The mum of Ben Needham who disappeared as a toddler has spoken out as she faces an agonising wait for the results of a DNA test from a man who claims he is her missing son.
Kerry Needham, 51, has been searching for her child - who vanished in Kos, Greece, when he was just 21-months-old for more than three decades, but has still not given up hope that she will be reunited with him.
The tot was staying in the village of Iraklis on the island, where his grandparents Eddie and Christine had a holiday home, when he went missing on 24 July, 1991.
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The couple had been looking after Ben while Kerry headed off to work, having just moved to Greece for a new start.
At around 2.30pm, his grandfather noticed that the youngster was no longer outside of the farmhouse that the family were renovating - but initially suspected Ben may have simply wandered off or was playing with one of his uncles.
Police were then called to investigate the situation.
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Suspicion fell on Ben's own relatives over the years and investigators carried out excavations at the farmhouse, although nothing was found.
In 2016, South Yorkshire Police expressed belief that Ben had died on the day he went missing in an accident with a digger driven by a local man, however, the family of the man have denied the claim he was involved.
Now, nearly 33 years on from his disappearance, his heartbroken mother Kerry is now anxiously awaiting to find out whether a Danish man who has claimed that he is the missing Brit is in fact her son.
It's not the first time she's had some hope that Ben could be coming home, as two other men have previously alleged that they are him throughout this year alone - an experience which Kerry described as 'traumatic'.
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Now, she faces what she hopes will be her third and final wait for DNA test results to see if it is actually her son.
A man from Denmark has alleged that his grandparents informed him he was taken from Kos as a child and that his parents have refused to deny the claims.
According to reports and adding to the mystery, the bloke insists he was hidden away for several years.
He also claims that he recalls visiting a market 25-years-ago and hearing someone shout 'Ben' at him, which then resulted in him being kept in a caravan.
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Kerry explained that the Danish man's DNA is being compared against a blood sample which was taken for the routine Guthrie heel-prick test when Ben was born at Boston Hospital in Lincolnshire.
Speaking to The Mirror, Kerry said: "This man is looking for his real family and he has given Danish police a sample of his DNA, which South Yorkshire Police are trying to get hold of via Interpol to do a comparison with Ben’s.
"In 33 years we’ve had hundreds of alleged sightings, the majority of them we have followed up ourselves in the earlier years. We’ve had DNA taken from people in Greece, Turkey, Germany and one in Florida and Australia.
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"But at least South Yorkshire Police are trying to get me answers and I can’t praise them enough."
Despite the force's theory being that Ben was killed in a digger accident, Kerry believes cops can't simply stop there as they have 'nothing to go on' and due to the fact that the driver 'now won't talk' to police.
She added: "I can’t believe it’s been 33 years and in October he will be 35. My mum is 72 and dad is 76. I don’t want something to happen to my parents without them knowing."
Topics: UK News, World News, Crime, Parenting
Olivia Burke