Ripon teacher and partner have dramatic escape from Russian military in Ukraine

Lewis Edwards, a British teacher from Ripon, fled the Russian military invasion this week.

Lewis and his partner, Tanya, had been taking cover in one of Kyiv's metro stations as the Russian tanks began to roll into the capital.

Following explosions in the neighbourhood, the couple emerged above ground, but it was not long before they were exposed to the terror of war again.

Lewis said: "The first thing we heard was like a gun cocking and a man shouting in Ukrainian ‘get on your knees, get on your knees,' so we ran."

The pair had witnessed a Ukrainian fighter detaining a suspected Russian spy, but it was enough to make them flee the capital.

Lewis added: "We drove, we were just constantly in contact with different people on different social networks, trying to find out what's happening, where and how to change our route.

"You can’t go this way, the bombs are going off (they were saying). You can’t go that way, the bridge is blocked by tanks. You can’t go this way, there’s a rocket strike."

The couple managed to get to safety by crossing the border into Slovakia and Lewis' mum, Alison, who had been in phone contact with them, shared her relief:

"We went from very spartan telephone calls and text messages and then long periods of no contact at all." she said.

"We didn't know if he was alive or dead or if they'd been captured even."

Watch Kris Jepson's full report here: