The mum of missing toddler Ben Needham has told how “astonishing” AI videos made from old unearthed family photographs were equally “heartbreaking and heartwarming”.

In a bid to “jog someone’s memory” she is now releasing the footage and sharing details of the day her son disappeared. Ben went missing on July 24, 1991, when he was 21 months old and playing outside a farmhouse his grandfather was renovating on the Greek island of Kos.

Kerry, now 53, from Sheffield, was just 19, at the time and was working in a nearby hotel as a waitress after starting a new life overseas. Since her son vanished Kerry was searched worldwide for Ben, following up thousands of sightings, DNA tests and even trafficking claims.

View 12 Images

Kerry Needham from Sheffield, who now lives in Turkey, says new AI footage could ‘jog someone’s’ memory(Image: Daily Mirror)

“The AI videos were sent to me by two supporters and campaigners who have helped me search for Ben over the years,” she told The Mirror. “They brought tears to my eyes as it was the first time I’d ever seen anything like that done, I just stopped in shock, it was ‘wow’.

“But it was bittersweet. It made me feel quite sad, it was heartbreaking to look at because they were so lifelike but it was like watching him playing again and being his normal self, so it was also heart warming at the same time.

View 12 Images

Kerry Needham says seeing Ben playing with a kitten might help others track her missing son down

View 12 Images

Ben Needham was last seen playing with water outside a farmhouse his grandfather was renovating(Image: PA)

“By bringing Ben’s photos to life like this, showing him moving, smiling and laughing, it might help someone remember seeing a little boy like that. It might help jog somebody’s memory.

“Everything we do is to raise the profile of Ben’s case and constantly asking, people ‘do they remember seeing a child like this anywhere, on a ferry in a port in a car?

“We know it’s a long long time ago but bringing these photos to life might just jog the right person’s memory.”

Kerry says people wrongly think ‘Ben is dead’

Kerry has recently launched Ben’s website www.findbenneedham.com which gives a timeline from 1991 until present day.

View 12 Images

Kerry Needham says she cried when she saw the photos come to life

She says she is determined to “get the truth out there” and worries the public wrongly think the case has been solved. South Yorkshire Police said it was its opinion that Ben was killed in a horror digger accident on Kos. But despite two intensive searches, no evidence was ever been found.

“Because of this many people think Ben is dead, ‘they say the digger driver did it, there was an accident and he was buried’. But there is no proof of this.

“I want to get the truth out. That did not happen, it is just a theory based on the balance of probabilities made by South Yorkshire Police but there is no physical evidence at all or forensic evidence. I don’t believe that happened.”

On Ben’s new website, she explained in detail about every important moment of their three decade long ordeal , which started back in July 24 1991. “On the day Ben disappeared, it had started like any other day. I left Ben with my mum and went off to work at a local hotel around 10.30am. It wasn’t until 10pm that I learned what had happened to Ben.” It was the years before mobile phones

View 12 Images

Kerry Needham outside the caravan where her parents stayed after first arriving on Kos(Image: Daily Mirror)

“After I left for work, my mum continued to feed Ben his breakfast and get him dressed. She decided to take a walk to visit my dad (a self employed builder) and my brother Stephen, who had just started working on an old farmhouse in the remote village of Iraklis.

“My mum set off around 11.30 am with my brother Danny, who was 10 years old at the time, and our dog. The walk would have taken around 45 minutes to an hour.”

When they arrived, she said, ‘Mikalis’ the farmhouse owner, told Stephen to go down to the local shop for snacks and drinks as he had an account there with the owner, Xanthippi Agreli.

“Ben was his normal mischievous self – playing, running in and out, and pouring water over his head rather than drinking it.

View 12 Images

Ben’s grandfather helping police as they search for his grandson in 2016(Image: MDM)

“At around 2:30pm my dad told Stephen he could leave for the day, as no more materials had arrived and work couldn’t continue. My dad and Mikalis stayed behind to wait for the digger to arrive. When Stephen left, Ben was still playing outside the doorway.” Police told The Mirror an eyewitness saw Stephen leave on his bike alone.

“After a couple of minutes of Stephen leaving, my mum said, “Ben’s quiet – he’s probably doing something he shouldn’t be,” and immediately went to check. But he wasn’t there. She looked all around the farmhouse, but there was no sign of him. She shouted for my dad to come and help her, and they all searched – calling his name again and again. The search went on for approximately two hours, but there was still no trace of Ben.

“Eventually, my mum began to think that Stephen must have taken Ben for a ride on the motorcycle without telling them. She became annoyed but decided to wait for Stephen to return with Ben. However, he never did.

View 12 Images

British police have twice searched land in front and behind the farmhouse where Ben was last seen in Kos but no evidence of his body was found(Image: Daily Mirror)

“The digger arrived sometime around 4.30pm to 5pm and Dino, the driver, asked my dad where he would like the entrance to the farmhouse to be. My mum then decided she would walk home, hoping she might pass Stephen on the way, as she knew by now Ben would be getting hungry.

“When she arrived home, there was no sign of either Stephen or Ben – although a full can of petrol had been left outside for the generator, just as my dad had asked Stephen to collect. My dad arrived home around 6pm, but still there was no sign of Stephen or Ben. So he decided to go to our apartment to see if they were there. Stephen was there – but Ben wasn’t.

“When my dad asked where Ben was, Stephen looked confused and said, ‘He’s at the farmhouse with you. I haven’t got him.’ And that’s when the awful panic set in. Dad and Danny drove straight to the farmhouse, while Mum and Stephen went to the police station.

“The officer on duty didn’t seem to take Mum seriously and said; ‘How can you lose a child? Go home and look again.’ Mum, distraught, shouted; ‘We’ve searched and searched – he’s not there!’ Two police officers were then instructed to follow Mum and Stephen back to the farmhouse, where Dad gave a full account of what had happened.

“The police began searching the surrounding area, including barns and animal shelters, but they refused to conduct house-to-house searches, saying it was 9pm and would be an invasion of privacy.

View 12 Images

Kerry Needham and Ben before they moved overseas to Kos(Image: Daily Mirror)

“At around 10pm, I heard my name being called from the reception area; ‘Come quickly!’ Two police officers stood there with my mum, who was sobbing uncontrollably. They told me; ‘Ben is missing’. The hotel staff immediately gathered water, food, and torches, and followed the police car to the scene. We all began frantically searching again.

View 12 Images

The Palm Beach hotel in Kos where Kerry Needham was working at the time of Ben’s disappearance (Image: Daily Mirror)

“We searched through the night until morning, when the police told us to come to the station to give our official statements.”

Kerry said police suggested that vehicles leaving the island by ferry to Athens should be checked and arrangements were made to meet police at the docks at 3am. “No police officer came to help,” she said.

View 12 Images

Kos ferry port where Ben’s grandad said he went to search, as cars went on without being searched by police(Image: Daily Mirror)

She said the next day, on July 25: “Builders working on another property give statements to the police stating that they had witnessed a white car parked in the lane around 2.30pm the day Ben vanished. They believed the car to have been a Suzuki Alto or similar model. He further stated that the car contained 3 occupants – one woman in the rear of the car, and two men in the front.”

She said the local shopkeeper Xanthippi Aggrelli, known as Sissy, was used as a translator by police to take statements from family and hotel staff. Kerry recalled how it wasn’t until July 26 that police finally informed the Airport of Ben’s disappearance.

“A woman who worked in a kiosk within the airport reports remembering seeing a child fitting Ben’s description in the airport on the same day he disappeared. This boy has never been traced. The British Embassy was informed and was asked to help. However no support was offered due to us not being under arrest for any crime and the Embassy’s feeling that the local police had better knowledge and so it should be best to leave it to them.

“More statements were taken from family members. All statements were hand written in Greek with no official translator, only the local shopkeeper at the Kos police’ request. Days and weeks were spent looking around the island and visiting the police station for updates on the investigation, but there was never any news or further leads.

The family finally left the island in September. “With no help or assistance from the British authorities and no finances to support ourselves, it was the only option.

View 12 Images

Kerry Needham has started a Website to help find her missing son Ben, who disappeared in 1991(Image: MDM)

“Once again let down by the British authorities we sold everything we owned, caravan, Land Rover, bikes, motorcycle, and even jewellery including wedding rings. “

Then followed years of searching the globe for Ben, chasing up potential sightings, people claiming to be Ben and the agony of waiting as police carried out two digs on the island.

Talking about her new website, Kerry said: “I wanted everything in one place because so many comments on Ben’s facebook page, people have forgotten about what’s happened in a certain situation. A lot of people just remember the police searches on Kos and the toy car found with decomposed blood on it.

View 12 Images

Toy car found on the last search for Ben on the island of Kos (Image: Handout)

“They don’t remember later when the toy car was tested and the decomposed blood inside the car was found not to be a match to Ben. We are constantly having to put people right about this. If we can direct them to this website which explains everything, people can keep going back and reading up about it and keep up to date about what is happening with the investigation.

“They can see how we have always been let down by the Greek and British authorities. Even going back to the fact the British Embassy did not come and help us in the first few days after he went missing and did not help us get back to England. We ended up sleeping under a tree while we were waiting for flights at the airport.

“I want people to see what we have suffered and what we are still battling with.”