http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... eared.html
Inside the house where Ben Needham vanished: Haunting photos show tragic Greek holiday home where the British toddler disappeared in 1991
Ben Needham, who was 21 months old, went missing while on holiday on the Greek island of Kos in 1991
His mother, Kerry, has spent years wondering what happened to her son after he vanished while playing
The youngster was from Sheffield and South Yorkshire Police believe they are close to solving mystery
They are digging a plot of land behind the farmhouse where Ben stayed with his mother and grandparents
This is the derelict farmhouse where missing toddler Ben Needham was last seen alive.
Pictures taken from inside reveal a ramshackle hut, sparsely furnished, with just rags up at the windows.
There are no carpets or beds and an old battered cabinet sits in the corner of the kitchen.
Photographs have emerged showing the inside of the house, which have remained virtually untouched since Ben Needham's last tragic holiday in 1991
Ben was playing in the dusty building in Kos on the day he went missing 25 years ago.
This week, police started searching land surrounding the farmhouse as part of a fresh inquiry into the little boy's disappearance.
And on Wednesday, officers from South Yorkshire police allowed the Daily Mail access to the property as they recounted Ben's final movements.
Interior of the house where Ben Needham disappeared from in Kos, Greece
Ben was on holiday with his mother, Kerry, and his grandparents at the idyllic farmhouse on the island of Kos in July 1991 when he vanished into thin air
On the day he disappeared Ben's grandparents were renovating the property and looking after him while his mother, Kerry, was at work at a nearby hotel.
The family had moved from Sheffield to the Greek island of Kos in search of a better life but their adventure turned into a tragedy when Ben vanished on the afternoon of July 24, 1991.
He was aged just 21 months and has never been seen since.
Ben's grandparents were living in Greece and he and his mother had come out to have a holiday and stay with them at the farmhouse (pictured)
The building, in the small hamlet of Iraklis, around one mile from the seafront, has been renovated since the Needham family was last there.
But these photographs show the layout is still exactly the same as on that tragic day.
The run-down building comprises of just three rooms: a kitchen and two other living rooms.
It sits next to a dusty track and is surrounded by farmland and waste ground.
The Daily Mail was allowed access today to the farmhouse (pictured during a previous search)
On the day Ben went missing there was no roof or glass in the windows. His grandfather Eddie and uncle Stephen, then 17, were working on it.
His grandparents were in the main room of the cottage, taking shelter from the sun, when Ben vanished.
A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said: 'The family were here to assist in the renovation, I don't know if that was to make it into a family home or a family holiday home but they were assisting with the renovations.
Ben Needham's furious mother, Kerry Needham (left) has told of her anger after it took 25 years for a mystery witness to come forward with information about her missing son (right)
'Since then it has obviously been renovated to the state you can see now and then allowed again to fall into a state of disrepair.
'Whether of not someone has lived in here or not, I am not sure. But it looks like someone has.'
In 1991 there were doorways on either side of the main room, which meant Ben could run in and out of the house on both sides. One door has since been bricked up and replaced with a window.
Konstantinos Barkas, also known as Dino, was clearing land with an excavator close to where Ben was playing on the day he vanished and may be responsible for his death, a friend of the builder reportedly told police following a television appeal in May
'He was in and out of this building playing, that is the understanding we have,' the police spokesman said.
'The grandparents were understood to have spent their time in here, taking shelter from the sun when they were taking a break from renovating and looking after Ben etcetera so this was basically the place where Ben's grandparents discovered he was missing. So there is quite a lot of significance to this building.'
Police launched the new excavation of an olive grove next to the farmhouse after a new witness came forward to claim Ben had been run over by a local digger driver who was also working on the farmhouse and buried.
If his account is true, it would put and end to Ben's mother's hopes of finding her son alive.
Police and volunteers searching the site have found dozens of bones but so far they have all found to be from animals.
They have also found scraps of material, photos of which have been sent of for analysis to see if they match the clothes Ben was wearing on the day he vanished.
On Wednesday, police focused their search at the base of a large fig tree - which they believe was planted after Ben went missing.
Officers studied a photograph taken around 10 days after his disappearance and noticed that the tree which now stands in the olive grove was not there at the time.
The picture, taken by a British press photographer, is the only record of the area from the time and police are now using it to aid them in a new search for Ben.
Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, who is leading the new search, said: 'This is the only record we have of the time that Ben disappeared in 1991.
'We have been able to analyse that with the experts who are here now and...look at the fauna and tree growth around it and as such, we are having a look at the area around a tree at the base of the farmhouse as we believe that may not have been there at the time.
'It is a photograph that was taken around 10 to 14 days after Ben's disappearance. It is the earliest record we have and the closet record of the time Ben disappeared.
'We are looking at closer analysis of the layout of the land itself, the trees, the fauna and everything that is around that.
'There is an indication that a tree that is here now clearly wasn't there at the time which is why we are concentrating our effort around that this morning.'
Meanwhile, police revealed they are reproducing a pair of sandals which Ben was wearing on the day he disappeared.
The little boy was wearing a pair of brown leather sandals with a metal buckle and white rubber sole on the day he went missing.
They can be seen in a photograph of him on a toy scooter taken around the time.
Police investigating the disappearance of toddler Ben Needham 25 years ago have found pieces of light-coloured fabric during a search of an olive grove close to where he went missing
The shoes were bought on the island and police are now having a replica pair made to be shown to those taking part in the search, so they know what to look for.
They will also be compared to items found during a previous search in Kos, in 2012.
DI Cousins said: 'We have made some inquiries on the island in relation to the sandal Ben was wearing in the photograph.
'I am having an exact copy of that sandal made by a local resident who makes them to order. I know the sandal was bought on the island and once we have got that it will be going off to be forensically examined in comparison to some of the items which were found in 2012.'
The search team from South Yorkshire Police is being funded by £1million from the Home Office.
