Inside the house where Ben Needham vanished: Haunting photos show tragic Greek holiday home where the British toddler disappeared in 1991 

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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.

This photograph taken 25 years ago may hold the key to finding out what happened to missing Ben Needham, police have revealed

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.

Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, who is leading the new search, said the pieces of fabric were of 'slight interest'

On Monday, the first day of the search in Kos, police found dozens of fragments of bone

Officers from South Yorkshire Police have launched a fresh bid to discover what happened to the little boy

A new witness came forward earlier this year to say he may have been run over by a digger and buried in the olive grove, close to a farmhouse where Ben was playing

Investigation: Special forensics police officers search the field on Kos this morning

Searches of the site, around two miles east of the Greek island's historic town centre, are expected to last for at least a week

This was the scene this morning as police started an examination of the site close in Kos

A police officer holding a plastic evidence bag kneels down to pick up an item from the ground

TIMELINE: A 25-YEAR SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH

Here is a timeline of events charting the disappearance of Sheffield toddler Ben Needham on the Greek island of Kos 25 years ago.

July 24 1991: Ben Needham vanishes while playing near the grounds of a farmhouse in the Iraklis region of Kos, which his family are renovating. His mother, Kerry Needham, and grandparents raise the alarm with local police and conduct a full search of the area.

July 26 1991: Eyewitness reports claim a boy matching Ben's description was found at the local airport on the day he disappeared. That boy has never been traced.

September 1991: The Needham family return to England due to illness but vow to continue the search.

June 2003: The Metropolitan Police issue an image of what Ben might look like at age 12 - 14 years old.

2004: An anonymous businessman offers a reward of £500,000 for information leading to Ben's safe return.

October 2010: Another public appeal is made by Ben's mother in the run-up to what would be his 21st birthday.

May 2011: The BBC airs a programme called Missing 2011, which includes a piece on Ben's story and the campaign to find him.

September 2011: Greek police on Kos officially re-open the case and grant the family a face-to-face meeting with the island's prosecutor.

October 2012: South Yorkshire Police in Kos begin digging up mounds around the property where Ben went missing to look for his remains.

December 2013: Ben's mother accuses then-Prime Minister David Cameron of not giving her case the same backing as he gave the parents of Madeline McCann. It comes as a dossier is produced containing reports from eight witnesses, none of who know each other, who all saw a boy possibly matching Ben's description with the same Greek family.

A new witness has claimed that 'Dino Barkas (pictured), who died of cancer last year, may have killed him in an accident with his JCB digger

Greek search and rescue officers were preparing the site ahead of an excavation. The farm house where the family was staying in 1991 is pictured above

December 2014: Lawyers representing Ben's family say they may take legal action to try to force the Government to make a decision about funding a new police investigation.

January 2015: The Home Office agrees to fund a team of British detectives to help search for the toddler.

March/April 2015: Three generations of Ben Needham's family travel to Greece to follow up a 'strong' lead that a man living there believes he may be the missing Brit due to having no photographs of himself under the age of two and no knowledge of where he was born. The man is later ruled out.

May 2015: Ben's family make a fresh appeal on Greek television for information regarding the disappearance.

May 2016: The Sun newspaper publishes a report that members of the police operation go on an 'eight-hour booze-up' in Kos during the latest stage of the investigation.

September 2016: Ben's family are told to 'prepare for the worst' by detectives leading the investigation, amid the belief the 21-month-old was crushed to death by a digger - the driver of which died in 2015. 

It comes as police arrive in Kos to begin excavation work in the belief the boy's remains may be buried near the farmhouse

The excavation, at what is now an olive grove,  is expected to take up to 12 days, police say

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

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