Ben Needham search: Police 'optimistic' as new Kos dig starts

Police teams searching for missing toddler Ben Needham on the Greek island of Kos have said they are "optimistic" about new excavation work.

Ben, from Sheffield, was 21 months old when he disappeared on 24 July 1991 during a family holiday.

Digging has begun at a new site after a fresh line of inquiry suggested he could have been crushed by a digger.

South Yorkshire Police (SYP) said it continued to keep an "open mind" about what happened to Ben.

The dig is expected to take 10 to 12 days, with the team of 19 expected to find "hundreds" of bones to be analysed.

More on the search and other South Yorkshire stories

Det Insp Jon Cousins, from SYP, said: "There are many lines of inquiry.

"I am keeping an open mind, but what I know at the moment with all the information we have, I've made the decision that it is necessary to do the work that we are going to be doing over the next week or so."

He added: "I am optimistic about the search taking place."

The new Greek led investigation, being supported by South Yorkshire police, was triggered by a friend of builder Konstantinos Barkas.

It was claimed Mr Barkas may have accidentally killed Ben while clearing land with an excavator close to where the toddler was playing on the day he vanished.

Mr Barkas reportedly died of stomach cancer last year, months before detectives from South Yorkshire Police arrived on the island for a renewed investigation.

His widow Varvara strongly dismissed any suggestions her late husband had killed Ben.

At the scene: Danny Savage, BBC News

In a sun-baked olive grove overlooking the sea, a team of British detectives are carrying out a fingertip search of the dusty soil.

In another corner of the field a JCB digger is scooping up earth, loading it into a Bobcat to carry away.

This is the routine which will play out up a country lane in Kos over the next week or so.

Will the earth here yield any sign of Ben Needham? The search is literally outside the door of the house where he was last seen alive 25 years ago.

This is organised work following up the best lead this enquiry has probably ever had.

If Ben Needham was accidentally run over and buried by a bulldozer working outside at the time, this is where he is most likely to be.

Detectives want to solve this case for Ben's family who are waiting anxiously for news.

Ben Needham's mother and grandparents were renovating a farmhouse in the village of Iraklise when he vanished.

His family and supporters have led a campaign to find him, while his mother and police officers have appeared on Greek television to appeal for information.

Earlier this year, South Yorkshire Police secured funding from the Home Office to send 10 officers to Kos to carry out further investigations.