Cumbrian family open home for Ukrainian refugees

A family fleeing the war in Ukraine have found a home in Cumbria.

Mum Mariya Lun and her two young children waited three weeks for Home Office paperwork to clear.

Their hosts are Michelle Wall and her son Noah, who was born with a rare brain condition and are based in Abbeytown.

Mariya said: "Now we are here, my children are happy, because at home before the war we were very active, went for holiday, went to after school classes, all the time moving and moving, during all this time during war, nobody any moves, just hide, alarms, move, not alarms."

Due to working as a Spanish teacher in Ukraine, Mariya first considered fleeing to Spain or to family friends in the Czech Republic until the Walls reached out and welcomed them into their home.

Mariya added: "We have two children, we wanted to save them, because all the time, my son and daughter [are] asking me, 'Why? Why do Russians want to kill us? When will this war end?'"

Mariya's husband has had to stay behind and has been enlisted to fight against the Russian invasion.

Michelle Wall says she's been overwhelmed with the support she's received as a host family for the refugees and urges others in Cumbria to do the same.

She said: "They are such lovely people, they just want somewhere safe to stay and be looked after while their husbands stay behind.

"Open your homes to them, they are beautiful people."

Mariya's children have been able to keep attending primary school classes remotely from their new home, 1,500 miles from Ukraine, and are hopeful a bilingual tutor can help them during their stay in Abbeytown.