Local Greek man who claimed to be missing Ben Needham is DNA tested by Brit detectives
The Operation Ben team will remain in Kos for another week exploring various lines of enquiry in hope of finding Ben
A LOCAL Greek man who thought he could be Ben Needham has returned a negative DNA test, detectives have revealed.
South Yorkshire cops received nearly 300 pieces of information since they landed on the Greek island to carry out further enquiries into Ben's disappearance more than 25 years ago.
The young man who believed he could be Ben contacted police but tests revealed he was not.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "One man's DNA was taken by the team in Kos following information received via the Help Find Ben page which suggested he could be Ben.
"Tests have confirmed that the man in question is not Ben Needham. The Operation Ben team will remain in Kos for another week exploring various lines of enquiry."
Detectives are sifting through information provided in 114 phone calls after an appearance on a popular missing persons Greek TV show.
Detective Inspector Jon Cousins, leading the search team, said the response had been "great"and residents on the island felt "comfortable" speaking to officers.
He said: "There has been a great response, not only in the studio but I am aware of 114 calls to the telephones we are utilising with the officers who are out here in Greece.
"There has been some information which is of interest and it is something we are going to work on over the next few days.
"The show has done extremely well, it does reach out to the right people and I believe we will get some answers from this."
Officers made an appeal for information on the disappearance of Ben on the Light at the End of the Tunnel show on Friday night.
The show, broadcast from Athens, is watched by six million viewers.
Ben, from Sheffield, went missing in 1991 while he was playing outside a remote farmhouse his grandfather was renovating.
A £10,000 reward has been made available for information leading to the discovery of Ben.
The appeal also had a huge impact in the UK, with around 75 calls made to the team's base in Sheffield, as well as messages via social media.