Ben Needham police start digs in Greece

Ben Needham has been missing since 1991.

Police teams searching for missing toddler Ben Needham on the Greek island of Kos say they are 'optimistic' a new excavation will provide answers, a quarter of a century after the British boy was last seen alive.

Digging began after a fresh line of inquiry suggested 21-month-old Ben may have been crushed to death by a digger near a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating in July 1991.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, from South Yorkshire Police, said the 19-strong team expected to find “hundreds” of bones, all of which will be analysed in laboratories once they are recovered.