Hosting a Ukraine family in Whittlesford an 'enriching' experience

Before the war Viktoriia (pictured left, with her son and host) lived in a community near the Ukrainian capital

A businesswoman who has hosted a Ukrainian family that fled the war-torn country said the experience had "enriched" her life.

Catherine Tompkins, of Whittlesford, near Cambridge, is one of thousands of people who have agreed to host refugees.

Viktoriia, and her daughter Ewelina and son Dmytro, will live with Ms Tompkins for at least six months.

Ms Tompkins said the three Ukrainians were now "part of the family".

"It has been a wonderful experience. It's enriched my life - Viktoriia, Ewelina, who is seven, and Dmytro, who is three, are my family," told BBC Politics East.

"I help do their paperwork and Viktoriia is a brilliant cook."

The family had spent Christmas in Ukraine before the invasion in February this year

Viktoriia lived near Kyiv before she fled first to temporary accommodation in Moldova, Poland and France, and then moved on to the UK

She said: "I will start work in a coffee shop in November and this is near to the nursery and near to the school and this is important to me."

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Ms Tompkins, a property developer, said she has also helped other families participating in the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme.

She said she had helped with the relocation of families when, for whatever reason, the original hosts had found it difficult to continue housing the family.

Viktoriia, pictured with her son Dmytro, starts work in a local coffee shop in November

In August, there were calls for an increase in the fee paid to host families to meet the rising cost of living, after a survey found a quarter of sponsors intended to drop out after the initial six-month period was up.

"A lot of hosts do feel guilty about this as they don't want their Ukrainian families to have nowhere to go to, and I think the government need to think about this sensibly and not leave it to the least minute," said Ms Tompkins.

'Proud to be British'

Conservative MP for North Norfolk, Duncan Baker, said he had enjoyed the experience of hosting a Ukrainian family.

"Lots of things can happen in the six months you look after a family and what I would say is 'I know it can be difficult but please try and bear with it'," he said.

"The support people have given is absolutely first class and makes me proud to be British."

A government spokeswoman said: "Sponsors are the backbone of the Homes for Ukraine scheme and we are grateful for the generosity of everyone across the country.

"All arrivals have access to benefits and employment from day one and we are giving councils an extra £10,500 per person to cover any extra costs.

"We are also supporting [British] people with rising costs - our Energy Price Guarantee will save the typical household around £1,000 a year and we are providing payments of £1,200 to the eight million most vulnerable families."

You can see more on this story on Politics East on BBC One on Sunday, 23 October at 10:00 BST, and on the BBC iPlayer afterwards.

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