Ben Needham’s family claim cops know Kos locals can reveal what happened to missing tot but are lying
Police believe the youngster was killed in an accident with a digger in 1991
THE FAMILY of missing tot Ben Needham said police know Kos locals can reveal the fate of the youngster, but that people have lied in witness accounts.
After a three-week dig on the Greek island this summer police said they believe the youngster, missing since 1991, was killed in an accident with a digger and hidden.
During the search cops found 93 items of interest including one of the youngster's Matchbox cars.
But, Ben was not found and his family were denied the chance to bring him home.
Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain today the Needham family called for more pressure to be put on Greek authorities, as they insisted people know what happened to Ben.
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Ben's mum, Kerry, said: "We know for a fact that there are people on Kos that know what happened to Ben that day.
"We have been assured by South Yorkshire Police that people do know. They do know. But they've lied."
The Needham family is desperate to bring Ben's body home to the UK.
His grandmother Christine said: "He deserves that. We're not asking for very much... It's time that somebody just gave us a bit of respect."
The toy car was found on a site where the digger driver dumped land and debris from the building plot he was clearing.
Officers showed it to Kerry, 43, who confirmed her 21-month-old son was playing with it on the day he vanished, while the family were enjoying a holiday.
This morning she said the family believe Ben died on the island and called for pressure to be put on Greek authorities to ensure the truth about the youngster's disappearance.
Cops believe Ben was then secretly buried elsewhere.
Speaking to the once the search had been called off, Ben's mum said further reports had corroborated the theory.
She added: “One man has taken a secret to his grave. Police believe that.
“They know enough information to know that happened. Someone else has come forward who was a teenager working for Dino.
“He learnt about Ben and asked Dino a few times and he kept saying, ‘No not possible’ but then in 2012 this person asked Dino about it again and he admitted to him in 2012: ‘I don’t know for sure but yes it’s possible.’"
The family said a man working with Dinos on the day could hold the secret to what happened to Ben, but that so far he had not spoken out.
After the search ended devastated Kerry, from Sheffield, vowed to keep looking for her son's body.
She said: “I want to tear up the whole island to find him. I can’t say goodbye until I know exactly where he is.”
Ben was last seen playing near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating in July 1991, when he was 21-months-old.
His sister Leigh-Anna spoke earlier this year about the impact of not knowing what happened to little Ben.
"I’m sort of half angry that they didn’t find anything because we were told to prepare for the worst and we believed at the time that the worst was going to be that we were going to find him and we were going to bring him back and we were going to have to deal with the grieving process then.
"I don’t think my grandparents can take much more of this. It’s absolutely destroyed my family and now I am even more determined to find out what happened on that day.”
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