Ben Needham's mother has been warned 'to prepare for the worst' as police plan a fresh dig to find his body 25 years after he vanished.

A new witness claims the 21-month-old may have been crushed by a digger driven by Konstantinos 'Dino' Barkas and buried on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.

South Yorkshire Police have spoken to the witness - who claims Ben's death was accidental - but detectives have not ruled out murder.

Today Ben's mother Kerry said she now truly fears her son is dead - but cannot forgive the witness who could have saved her decades of hell.

She said: '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. Perhaps I could have forgiven that person back then. But now, no'.

Tragedy: Kerry Needham, right, said it would be her 'worst nightmare come true' if the body of her missing son Ben, left, was found after officers searching for him revealed they have been tipped off he may have died in a JCB accident in Kos in 1991

Ms Needham, pictured in Greece shortly after the disappearance, has been searching for her son for 25 years

She added: ' This new witness that's come forward. It is obviously a man from Kos. He's known our family. He's seen me on the TV. He's seen my family on the TV for 25 years. He knew this information 25 years ago. Of course I'm angry. He could have ended this 25 years ago'.

South Yorkshire Police, who are carrying out a new £1million inquiry to solve the mystery, have told mother Kerry Needham they fear he is dead.

Detectives are planning excavations on the island 'within weeks' to find Ben's remains.

Digger driver Konstantinos Barkas, known as Dino, was working near the farmhouse where Ben went missing in 1991.

According to the Daily Mirror a friend of Mr Barkas has finally admittedthe driver may be responsible.

Mr Barkas previously came forward in 2012 to tell police he may have accidentally covered the child in rubble while digging near a farmhouse on the island.

But the new witness allegedly claims that Dino Barkas hit him first.

Miss Needham, 43, said she was scared of dying 'from shock and heartbreak' should she receive news of the worst possible outcome.

She said: 'They [police] said a new witness had come forward and told them there were two areas of land that building waste had been dumped at by Dino which had not been searched.'

But a detailed examination of land near the farmhouse by a specialist police search team found nothing.

'I was absolutely shell-shocked and just sat there numb,' Miss Needham told the Daily Mirror. 'The last dig found nothing so we were convinced Ben was still out there somewhere.'

A witness has come forward claiming JCB driver Konstantinos Barkas, left, may have been responsible for Ben's, right, death while digging in the area

Mr Barkas was questioned at the time Ben went missing but he died from cancer last year.

The new witness has been questioned by South Yorkshire Police.

BEN NEEDHAM: 25-YEAR TRAGEDY OF MISSING BOY July 24, 1991 - Ben vanished around 2.30pm while playing outside the farmhouse in the village of Iraklis where his mother Kerry and grandparents were staying on holiday. His disappearance was reported to Greek police, who failed to put in place checks on ferries leaving the island for the mainland. July 25 - Builders working nearby give a statement saying they had seen a car, possibly a Suzuki Alto, parked near the farmhouse the day before. A woman was sitting in the back and two men in the front. That car has never been traced. July 26 - The police finally notify the authorities at the island's airport. A woman working at the airport recalls seeing a boy fitting Ben's description in the terminal on the day he went missing. September - The family finally return to England but the search for Ben goes on for 25 years - although hopes appear to be fading. Advertisement

Miss Needham added: 'What they had to tell me was the last thing they would have ever wanted to. They think my Ben could be dead and buried. They are no longer looking for a missing person. How do I cope with that?

'My mother's instinct has always told me he was alive. What if I've been wrong all this time?

'I'm petrified. I think the police believe they will find Ben's bones. I think he's dead. They will be bringing specialist people from the UK to search for his remains.'

She added: 'To deal with the fact that he could be dead, that he's been dead for 25 years… I don't know. If I can get up from it. Can I? Am I strong enough to? I just don't know if I am. I know there's only so much stress and trauma a person's mind and body can take. I might have a heart attack. I might die of shock. I am scared of that. I'm scared of how I'm going to be able to deal with this, if that's the case.

'In one respect I hope to God they don't find anything and I'll still have that hope that Ben is out there but then can I live with that for the rest of my life? This rollercoaster of emotions. The ups and downs, the devastation of thinking we've found him and then after DNA tests, it's not him. I just don't know what the better outcome is.'

The youngster vanished on July 24, 1991, when Miss Needham, who was 19 at the time, left him with her parents Eddie and Christine Needham –who had emigrated to Kos – while she worked at a local hotel.

Ben wandered off at around 2.30pm but police were not contacted for at least three hours because the grandparents thought he must have gone with Kerry's 17-year-old brother Stephen.

His mother told the Mirror: 'They [South Yorkshire Police] don't have an X marks the spot but they are confident of this information. They are no longer looking for a living person.'

Ms Needham, who also has a daughter, Leighanna, 22, praised the officers involved in the search, describing their efforts to find Ben as 'heroic' and 'truly incredible'.

Detectives are understood to be investigating whether Mr Barkas knew he had killed the boy and whether there was a 'conspiracy' among his friends to protect him.

Officers have previously excavated land on the island near the farmhouse after the Home Office backed a search that included sniffer dogs and bone specialists.

The operation was prompted on information from Greek Police that Ben may be dead, but no trace of him was ever found.

South Yorkshire Police officers previously conducted a dig, pictured, on the island in 2012 looking for the body

Now they will search two areas near a farmhouse where building waste was dumped by Mr Barkas, who has since died of stomach cancer

It is understood officers will search two areas where building waste dumped by Mr Barkas, who has since died of stomach cancer, that had previously not been investigated.

Ms Needham said she 'does not know if she will be able to cope' if the search finds Ben's remains

Officers are not ruling out suspicious circumstances and it is understood soil samples have been taken and drones have been used to photograph the site.

The unnamed witness is believed to have told police he saw Mr Barkas 'sweating and shaking' after coming back from a police station the day after the disappearance.

He had been questioned by officers over the possibility of an accident.

Ms Needham said the family was 'sure' Ben was alive following the 2012 search because it 'proved he was still out there'.

But now she fears losing purpose if her son's remains are discovered after spending 25 years of her life looking for him.

She told the Mirror: 'My reason for waking up in the morning and dealing with life was looking for Ben. Now what? I don't know if we will ever be able to cope with it. I don't know if I'm strong enough.'

As previously reported, officers received more than 100 calls regarding the investigation earlier this year after Ben's case appeared on a Greek missing person television programme.

And in May last year, Ben's mother, sister and grandmother travelled to Greece with South Yorkshire Police detectives to make a direct appeal on a Greek television show about missing people.

South Yorkshire Police said officers would be travelling back to Kos in the coming weeks 'to follow up new lines of inquiry' which have emerged following a direct Greek media appeal in May.

Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick leading the investigation said: 'There will be planned operational activity at two locations on the island that have been identified as areas of interest to the investigation.

'We continue to keep an open mind and have updated Ben's family about certain lines of inquiry we're currently exploring.

'A dedicated policing team continues to work extremely hard to find answers for his family and keep them fully informed and supported throughout the investigation.'