Promising young footballer forced to flee Ukraine joins Bracknell Town Football Club

• 17-year-old Marko Podoliak has been speaking to ITV Meridian's Mel Bloor

A promising young footballer, forced to flee Ukraine, has been speaking about his terrifying five-day journey to Berkshire, leaving his family behind.

17-year-old Marko Podoliak has been awarded a two-year sponsorship at Bracknell Town Football Club.

He was due to start in September but the club arranged for him to come sooner to escape the war.

Without their intervention, Marko faced conscription in Ukraine when he turns 18. 

To flee the invasion by Russian forces, Marko travelled to Poland via Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia, before taking a plane to Paris. From there, he flew to Ireland where he caught a ferry to the UK.

Marko’s mother helped him to get to Poland, before heading for Italy with his younger brother. Marko's father and older brother remained in Lviv to fight. He said: "It's really tough. Our family has been separated. My mother is living in Italy, my dad and my brother are in Ukraine as part of the Territorial Defence and they're guarding our city.

"I'm really worried. A tragedy can occur at any point. A few days ago some rockets exploded not far away from our city and you never know when that can happen again."

• WATCH: Marko says it was a journey he had to make

The chairman of Bracknell Town Football Club, Kayne Steinborn-Busse, said: "Leaving Marko in Ukraine, he would had to have started fighting in the summer at some point.

"For me, my son's just turned 18 and I couldn't imagine my 18-year-old son being sent to war. They're still children at 18 in my opinion."

Since joining Bracknell Town Football Club, Marko has played in four games and scored ten goals.

His ambition is to one day play in the Premier League.

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