Son of digger driver accused of crushing Ben Needham reveals his DNA was tested to see if he was missing boy
Valandis Barkas said they were “mad” to mistake him for the blonde blue-eyed Brit.
Ben, who would now be 26, vanished aged 21 months while holidaying on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.
Mr Barkas, 29, whose dad Konstantinos is suspected of accidentally crushing the boy with his digger, said: “At one stage the authorities thought I may have been Ben.
“I couldn’t believe it. Ben has blue eyes and blonde hair and I’m Greek through and through, dark hair and dark eyes. I thought they’d gone mad.”
Valandis is certain his dad, who died of stomach cancer last year, was innocent following allegations from a new witness.
He said: “If he’d done something like that, you would see the guilt in his eyes. He was as innocent as a baby.”
Claims that Konstantinos was a boozer who visited prostitutes were also denied by a pal.
THE widow of the Greek digger driver has also her late husband was a "good man" and hit back at claims he may have killed the toddler.
She said: “My husband was a good man and I know he had nothing to do with Ben’s disappearance.”
Ben’s mum Kerry, 43, from Sheffield, has been told to prepare for the worst while cops from South Yorkshire Police search two areas of land.
She told the Mirror: "They've told me they may not be looking for a complete skeleton.
"I felt sick.
“It was, and still is, an unimaginable horror. The fact that he is dead (would) destroy me, but if it was a painful and horrible death that would crucify me even more.”
Detectives working on the case now believe the youngster may have died shortly after he vanished from Greek island Kos in 1991.
His mum told ITV show Good Morning Britain: "He could have ended this 25 years ago. I could have grieved, had my daughter. You never forget your child but at least I would have known where he was. I could have done something with my life.
"Instead I've had a life on hold without being able to do anything or focus on anything. I'm living this nightmare - but it could have been ended 25 years ago. I could have probably forgiven that person back then. But now, no."
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