A BLOOD sample taken from British toddler Ben Needham before he disappeared on holiday 20 years ago could help police solve the mystery.

The High Court has ruled that British police can match his DNA with any samples provided by Greek authorities.

Ben was 21 months old when he vanished outside a farmhouse his grandparents were renovating on the Greek island of Kos in 1991

His family believe he was snatched and there have since been dozens of false sightings.

After the court ruling, Ben’s mother Kerry Grist, 39, of Sheffield, said: “It’s a huge breakthrough. It’s been a long process, over about six or seven months, but the end result is obviously, it’s amazing.

“I think probably this is the first time any mother would wish that their child has committed an offence in whichever country that he’s in.”

Ben was given the Guthrieheel-prick blood test when he was born at Boston Hospital, in Lincolnshire, and the DNA has been stored by the NHS ever since.

South Yorkshire police confirmed it had Ben’s DNA and it could match it with any other profiles.

Ben’s is one of the longest-running missing persons cases in British history but has never received the same level of publicity as Madeleine McCann’s 2007 disappearance.

He was snatched as he played outside a farmhouse his expat grandparents Eddie and Christine Needham were renovating while Kerry was at work at a local hotel.

A number of images have been produced through the years showing how Ben would look at age 10, 13, 18 and now his current age of 21.