Andover: Dad thanks doctors who saved sick four-year-old daughter's life after years in refugee camp

Maasom tells ITV News Meridian reporter Penny Silvester about his daughter's plight

A dad who brought his family to the UK has thanked the doctors who saved his sick daughter's life.

Maasom Hassan had been living in a refugee camp in Iraq for eight years when his daughter became perilously unwell.

Nasrin, aged four, has a rare heart condition, and has undergone two operations at Southampton General Hospital, which her dad says saved her life.

Maasom brought his family to Andover in Hampshire through the official refugee resettlement scheme.

Maasom said: "She was ill when she was in Iraq. There was a lack of medical support and expertise. When we first arrived here we stayed in the hospital for 40 days."

Nasrin is now a bright, healthy articulate young girl.

Her dad said: "I would like to thank all the people who helped me from the government scheme and local charities, and to ask them to continue supporting refugees because that could have been my daughter, who was in desperate need."

Maasom said his family loves their new life in the UK.

He said: "I've lived here for three years now and I've got used to the shops, the streets, the people here. I'm used to Andover.

Maasom now works with the charity International Rescue Committee, where he helps other refugees integrate into their new homes across the South East. 

He is urging others to reach out to refugees to help them begin a new life in the UK.