THE FAMILY of the missing British child, Ben Needham, say they are not getting too optimistic over news that German police are investigating claims the boy is living in Germany with a Greek couple.
Ben disappeared from the Greek island of Kos in July 1991, aged 21 months. The latest development follows claims by a prisoner in Greece that the child was snatched by gypsies and eventually smuggled to Germany.
The prisoner is believed to have made the claim to Ben's mother, Kerry, after watching the child's grandparents make a television appeal for information on his whereabouts. German police are said to have had a Greek restaurant under surveillance for some time.
According to Mrs Needham, the information came from a convicted armed robber who claims to be related to a member of the gang that snatched Ben.
She said: "He has given us names and addresses of a couple who are supposed to know where Ben is and who he is with.
"We don't want to raise our hopes too high but it's very difficult at the moment and, of course, there is always the possibility that our informant is simply lying for whatever reason.
Ben disappeared from a remote farmhouse at Herakles, which was being renovated by his family, who had emigrated to Kos from Sheffield.
In September 1992, police issued 5,000 computer image pictures showing how Ben would look aged three. Another was created in 1994 and distributed around Kos.
Ben's parents have offered a £20,000 reward for information and a £500,000 reward has also been offered by a mystery millionaire to anyone who finds the child.
A Foreign Office spokesman said yesterday: "We have had information and passed it over to the German authorities. As yet, it's thrown up absolutely nothing."