The joyous moment a three-year-old Ukrainian refugee sees her new bedroom and toys

Maria Hroshkova sees her new bedroom and toys for the first time as she arrives to safety at her hosts' Yorkshire home.


The moment the three year-old Ukrainian refugee was shown her new bedroom and toys as she arrived to safety in the UK has been captured on camera.

Little Maria Hroshkova was clearly delighted with her toys - many donated by neighbours - upon her arrival to a safe new home in Southowram, near Halifax.

Maria finally got to her new home after her family spent weeks ploughing through red-tape to get UK visas following hundreds of miles travelling from Poland.

The young girl, along with mum Ohla and grandmother Larysa, fled Russia's Ukraine invasion for Yorkshire, where they have been welcomed by their hosts, Anne-Marie and Simon Miles.

A warm Southowram welcome for the family

The exhausted family received a warm welcome, with neighbours also turning out to greet them.

Host Anne-Marie told ITV News Calendar she felt a sense of relief after the family finally made it to safety.

As an ex-Army wife, she said she could identify only too well with the displaced family, and offered a home even before the sponsorship scheme started.

Now, she's encouraging others to do the same.

She said: "I felt relief, relief that they are here finally and a weight is off my shoulders- they are here and they are safe, and I think more people should do it.

"It keeps people safe and they can support each other because grandma doesn't speak good English but Orla speaks fluent English, so I think it's important, I would want to be with my grandma and my mum."

Husband Simon served 24 years in the British Army, Anne-Marie said.


  • Anne-Marie speaks to ITV News Calendar:


"I was an Army wife when my husband was fighting in the wars and where would I have gone?

"I asked my husband what he thought and he said yes - we tried to take in Afghanistan refugees who he knew, but they went to Canada. We have a four-bedroom house and our son has moved out."

She continued: "We've been emailing daily asking people to for help with the visas, they've been passed from pillar to post, and we just wanted them here.

"It just makes you feel warm. I like to help people anyway it just makes you feel you've done something."