James O'Brien caller describes 'horrible limbo' as she awaits Homes for Ukraine outcome

8 April 2022, 15:50 | Updated: 8 April 2022, 15:58

By Tim Dodd

This James O'Brien caller, who has "childproofed" her house ready to house a Ukrainian mother and baby, describes the "horrible limbo" she's in as she awaits their visa outcomes.

It comes amid reports that female refugees who've arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme have sought alternative homes after their male hosts made sexual advances.

According to the Times, as of yesterday, 10,000 visas had been granted to the 40,000 who've applied to come to the UK, while over 1,000 refugees are already in the country.

It's also been reported British hosts have been rejected for the scheme by the Home Office because they have plug sockets that are 'too low', or garden ponds.

Sarah in Colchester told James: "We're sponsoring a mum and an eleven-month-old baby whose husband sent them across the border when the invasion started.

"They're living in someone's house about 15 miles into Poland, and they've been there obviously a month or so now, and struggling.

"We know that eleven-month-old babies are active and full of beans. Mum's obviously not got her normal backup, her mum and her grandmother.

"We put the application in 15 days ago. We did it on WhatsApp with her on WhatsApp on video call and us on laptop.

"She had to go an hour on the train with no pushchair to do the visa checks for the baby because the baby didn't have a passport."

Sarah said she hasn't heard anything about the progress of their application since hearing that it's with a clearance officer in Sheffield, and is "absolutely fuming with this government" and "really ashamed that we've let these people down".

"From the minute you wake up to the minute you go to bed, you're constantly checking your emails to see if that golden email has come through from UKVI," she said.

"You feel like all you're doing is apologising and trying to keep their morale going."