Ukraine: Gladiators winner replaces refugee's skateboard

Refugee Assist said the board made Ivan "so happy, which is great after everything he has been through"

A former winner of TV sports challenge show Gladiators has stepped in to replace a refugee's beloved skateboard after he had to leave it behind as he journeyed to safety from Ukraine.

Eunice Huthart, who later joined the show's live events as Blaze, sent a board to Ivan after he had to leave his in Poland as he travelled to Wirral.

On Twitter, the 55-year-old said she hoped it "made the family smile".

The nine-year-old's mother Julia said it had made them "feel special".

Charity Refugee Assist had put out an appeal to help Ivan get some toys after he and his mother arrived in Neston.

They had fled Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, after it came under heavy attack by Russian forces.

The charity's Chris Young said Ivan had "brought his skateboard out of Ukraine but couldn't get it on the plane from Warsaw".

The nine-year-old and his mother arrived in the UK on Friday.

Mr Young said the ex-Gladiator's gift package for the family, which also included sweets and food hamper, was "a pure act of kindness".

"It was an amazing gesture," he said.

"Ivan got the skateboard and has been going up and down the street.

"He has looked so happy, which is great after everything he has been through."

Gladiators was a popular ITV show in the 1990s, which pitched contestants against a roster of athletes in a series of physical challenges.

Huthart, who is from nearby Liverpool, won the show as a competitor in 1994 before taking her place as a Gladiator for live shows as Blaze.

She went on to work as a stunt double for a number of film stars, including Angelina Jolie, Uma Thurman and Milla Jovovich.

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