A British man has bought a £100,000 three-bedroom house in Wrexham for a family of refugees forced to flee the brutal ongoing war in Ukraine.
Jamie Hughes made the extraordinary gesture for Maria and her boys, aged 10, 12 and 14, after the family were forced to flee Ukraine when “bombs started going off 10 miles from her home”.
Mr Hughes linked up with the family two weeks ago after taking to social media to offer to sponsor refugees escaping the violence.
It is hoped the family-of-four will be able to move into the property by April 10 if their visas are confirmed in time and, for now, local people are helping to get it ready for their arrival.
Mr Hughes, who started working at a telecoms company when he was 21, said it was “absolutely devastating watching millions of people fleeing – the bombs going off” and decided to help.
He considered creating an annex in his own home to offer to a refugee family but soon realised it would have taken about two years to convert, as well as being too cramped and lacking in privacy.
However, after viewing empty properties in Wrexham, he decided to make an offer which was then accepted, BBC News reported.
Maria, who is currently still in western Ukraine with her children, said she “couldn’t believe it” and told Mr Hughes he was “so kind”. She told him “you’ve done enough” when he also offered her money to flee the war-torn the country.
The family are currently on their way to a refugee camp in Poland, where they can register for papers to become refugees in the UK.
Family friend Julie Simkins said the community had been “absolutely incredible” amid an effort to prepare the house through a Facebook group called Wrexham and Ukraine United.
She added: “They’ve been rallying round to help with donations and are ready to embrace her and the boys.”
She said thanks to the sofas, beds, washing machines and fridge freezers that have been gifted, “we’re pretty much good to go with furnishing the entire house now”.
Mr Hughes said Maria, who worked in anaesthetics at a Ukrainian hospital, will be put in touch with people at the local hospital to discuss job opportunities when she arrives in the UK.