Girl dubbed Italy's Madeleine McCann 'found alive and well' four years after she vanished

A girl who went missing four years ago and became known as 'Italy's Madeleine McCann' was apparently found alive last night.

Denise Pipitone was only four when she vanished in September 2004 from outside her grandmother's house in Sicily where she was playing.

Last night police picked up an eight year-old girl matching her description on the Greek island of Kos following a tip-off.

A gipsy woman with the child at first claimed to be her mother but later admitted she was not, according to police.

They said the child had a birthmark under her eye like that of Denise and that she could speak only Italian.

Urgent DNA tests were ordered after a picture of the child was shown to Denise's mother Piera, who said the birthmark and the shape of the eyes were 'exactly the same' as her daughter's.

She added that there had been numerous false alarms in the past, so she would not allow herself to get her hopes up.

But it was the first time the similarities were so strong that she had agreed to DNA tests.

News of the discovery, if confirmed, will bring fresh hope to Gerry and Kate McCann.

And it could provide a glimmer of hope for the parents of Ben Needham, who was 21 months old when he vanished in 1991 from Kos.