Refugee host family 'shocked' by money claims

The woman who made the claims arrived in the North East under the Homes for Ukraine scheme (image posed by an actor)

A North East woman who invited a Ukrainian mother and son into her home says she has been badly let down by the experience and warns others thinking of doing so to be cautious.

The woman, who does not want her name to be released, claims she was falsely accused of exploiting the refugees.

But hundreds of pounds of her own money were spent on food and gifts and she even funded their flights, she said.

She wants more to be done to make the Homes for Ukraine scheme work better.

The refugee had fled Bucha, north of Kyiv, and came to north-east England on 16 April.

The 45-year-old later claimed that her hosts asked for money and she was then told to leave within three weeks.

She said she and her 13-year-old son were "left homeless" and ended up having to be helped by a Sunderland-based charity to find temporary accommodation.

However, the family who opened their home to them said they did everything to make them welcome, spending hundreds of pounds to "distract them from the horrors they had gone through".

'Ended dreadfully'

The woman said: "We paid for their flights here and picked them up from the airport.

"We spent hundreds of pounds of our own money on them - I wanted to distract them from the horrors they had gone through."

Although they had not received any government money they did not mind and spent £700 on food, they said.

Friends and neighbours donated clothes, cash and vouchers.

"We collected £800 to buy a laptop and a bike for the boy," she said.

"I bought him expensive trainers for his birthday and got my friends and family to send them cards to make the day special."

The charity supporting the Ukrainian woman said she stands by her claims about how she became homeless and is now looking for longer term accommodation for herself and her son.

The North East family said they did ask their guests to leave because they had accused them of exploitation, which left them "hurt and horrified".

"Anyone who knows me knows it couldn't be further from the truth," the woman said.

"I was really upset and it will stop me doing anything like this ever again.

"We opened our homes and our hearts up and it ended dreadfully."

The family said they did not get enough support and believe some Ukrainian refugees did not fully understand what they were entitled to under the government scheme.

Both the local police force and relevant council have confirmed there was no wrongdoing involving the family.

The government said Homes for Ukraine had helped more than 33,000 people, with very few unsuccessful cases.