Sunday People

Vanished, warped Brit offers a... DAY OUT

Ben digger suspect a bet addict

- From Lucy Thornton and Andy Lines in Kos

the tours or arrange accommodat­ion but has a contact with a flat owner who does reasonable prices.

The guide said he is planning to introduce a new tour route suitable for wet weather.

The man is said to have moved d to the Portuguese resortesor­t with his wife severalral years ago.

He i s clearly early unaware or not bothered by thehe disgust his s warped pastime causing.

Several is s street signs have been sprayed with the message “Stop McCann Circus” in response to all the negative publicity the pictur picturesqu­e Algarve town receives.receives CriticsCri­tic said the sightseein­g tour is i in appalling taste. Explaining­Exp why he remainsrem­ain anonymous, the guide says: “I see a lot of peoplepeo for whom the MadeleineM McCann caseca is about them, as if they want major rolesr i n a stage drama.d “I want the exact opposite.o “I prefer to remain anonymous, in the background, a noncharact­er in the case.

“That means my musings are more likely to be judged on merit alone.

“Hopefully, that in turn maximises the chance of working out what happened to Madeleine McCann.”

Explaining the twisted thinking that produced the tour, the man says: “My first thought was simple.

Dreadful

“I just could not make a ghouls tour of Luz fly. Then the idea began to intrigue me.

“How does one make a ghouls’ tour of Luz actually work?

“The solution is cheap and cheerful. It comes out of the best penny dreadfuls in Victorian era. You do not bother about the truth. Or the facts. You simply go for the thrill value.”

He continues: “I suppose, at a push, with all the red herrings around, I could develop a ghouls’ tour with at least 20 points on the map.

“There must be at least ten more red herrings in the Madeleine story, surely.

“The difficulty is my brain is not into red herring stories and my heart is not into this line of action.”

While this deluded man amuses himself with his outrageous “game” the British investigat­ion into the disappeara­nce codenamed Operation Grange has cost at least £12million. THE digger driver suspected of accidental­ly killing Ben Needham was crippled with debt after getting hooked on gambling and Russian prostitute­s.

Konstantin­os “Dino” Barkas, a once wealthy businessma­n, is believed to have gambled away his savings.

Yesterday South Yorkshire police moved their search to an area Dino was last seen clearing with his digger on the day Ben vanished on the Greek island of Kos 25 years ago.

It is believed to be the same spot Dino’s pal claims to have seen 21-month-old Ben playing near.

The friend, who prompted the police search, said he thought it was a dangerous place for Ben to play as it was so near the massive Caterpilla­r machine.

Demolishin­g

But despite his fears he failed to alert Ben’s family, who were renovating a property nearby.

Dino was demolishin­g an old farmhouse on the day Ben, from Sheffield, vanished on July 24 1991.

Mr Barkas’s family have denied he had anything to do with Ben’s disappeara­nce. Mr Barkas, aged 62, died last year of cirrhosis of the liver.

The police chief leading the investigat­ion yesterday explained how they are now targeting the new spot.

As officers used chainsaws to clear the area, Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said: “It’s an area where Dino Barkas was demolishin­g on that day.”

He added: “It’s a targeted area partly because of informatio­n from a new witness.”

 ??  ?? DISTRESS: Parents Kate and Gerry MYSTERY: Drawing of suspect SCRUBLAND: Included by guide ITINERARY: Our Lady of the Light is on the tour MISSING: Toddler Ben Needham SIFTING: Yorkshire police on Kos
DISTRESS: Parents Kate and Gerry MYSTERY: Drawing of suspect SCRUBLAND: Included by guide ITINERARY: Our Lady of the Light is on the tour MISSING: Toddler Ben Needham SIFTING: Yorkshire police on Kos

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