Ben Needham search: Toddler 'feared dead in digger crush' Published duration 16 September 2016

image caption Ben Needham vanished on the Greek island of Kos in July 1991 when he was 21 months old

Missing toddler Ben Needham may have been crushed to death by a digger, campaigners searching for him have been told.

Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he disappeared on the Greek island of Kos on 24 July 1991.

The official campaign group, headed by his mother, said police were set to excavate two sites on the island.

Police, who suspect Ben died 25 years ago, have told his mother to "prepare for the worst", the Daily Mirror says.

Kerry Needham told the newspaper: "They are no longer looking for a missing person. How do I cope with that?"

No trace

Ben vanished after travelling to the island with his mother and grandparents who were renovating a run-down farmhouse building in the village of Iraklis.

The dig is to take place close to where Ben was last seen playing near his grandparents' home.

Det Supt Matt Fenwick, of South Yorkshire Police, 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."

He said an appeal in May, when officers returned to Kos to carry out house-to-house visits and distribute leaflets and posters, had "prompted new information and lines of inquiry".

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