The British Government’s pledge for 700,000 pounds to find Ben Needham has given his mother new hope that the 23-year mystery of the disappearance of her son may finally be solved. The little boy had gone missing on Kos in 1991 when he was aged 21 months. The boy’s mother, Kerry Needham, wants detectives to visit Veria, a town in Northern Greek, where eight witnesses said that they spotted little blond Ben.

These eight sightings of the blonde boy living with a strange family in Veria were never fully investigated by the police, according to the mother who believes that her son may have been living here from 1994-1998.

The boy’s mother turned a dossier of evidence she had gathered over the years to the Yorkshire police so that they could follow her leads.

Kerry believes that the Greek police had failed to take her leads and abduction claims seriously.