the 21 month old Ben Needham when he vanished 25 years ago

British police issued a renewed appeal in Greece on Tuesday for information on Ben Needham, the toddler who went missing from the Greek island of Kos 25 years ago, asking Greeks whether they might be him.

The child was only 21 months old when he disappeared as he played outside a farmhouse that his family was renovating. Despite repeated appeals and hundreds of possible sightings, the boy has never been found and few firm clues have emerged.

The hunt is one of Britain’s longest-running missing-person inquiries.

“The question I would like people to ask themselves is: could you be Ben?” said detective inspector Jon Cousins, the lead UK investigator.

Computer image of Ben Needham now

“As a child, did you have blonde hair and blue eyes? Do you have doubts over who your parents are, or perhaps you look physically different to your parents? … If you have any of these doubts, please call us,” he said.

Officers from South Yorkshire Police travelled to Kos in a revived bid for information. They have asked locals to help with information about a call received by the British Missing People Charity in 1993 stating that Ben was living in Greece under the name Andreas, and was being cared for by a man called Nicos.

Police said those names have since been repeated by others and officers were keen to speak to anyone with information about this.

“We are committed to finding answers about what happened to Ben,” Cousins said. “We are not here to blame anyone or get anyone into trouble. We simply want to know what happened to him.”