A charity is holding a free public event next week in the hope of encouraging more people to consider hosting Ukrainians fleeing the war in their homeland.

Helping Heart North Yorkshire is hosting the information session in the upper room at Northallerton Town Hall from 7pm on Wednesday, June 7.

It is looking for people to come forward willing to host a Ukrainian person or family in their home for up to six months under the UK's Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme.

The charity said since the Russian invasion, Ukrainians have been arriving in the area and learning to adapt to life in the UK.

Some are now moving on from living with sponsors to independent accommodation and many have wider family and friends, desperate to flee the ongoing war for temporary respite.

Next week's event will provide information about what being a sponsor entails, and will be attended by current and former hosts, as well as Ukrainians living in the area.

Representatives from some of the many organisations which offer a range of practical and emotional wellbeing support to both Ukrainians and their sponsors will also be present.

Sponsor Claire Bell said: "For us it was the most exhausting, but rewarding experience. Our guest embraced living in the UK and is keen to contribute to the country that 'rescued' her. The culture she comes from is very different to ours and her observations about the UK make us very proud of the country we live in and the kind heartedness of the UK residents to complete strangers."

Admission is free to this event and everyone is welcome. Helping Heart North Yorkshire has been supporting Ukrainians since April 2022 and provides a fortnightly hub with refreshments at Northallerton Rugby Club, financial, practical and general wellbeing support to Ukrainians and sponsors, as well as hosting social and special events.

To contact the charity, call coordinator Alison Shepherd on 07795 142855 or see www.helpingheartnorthyorkshire.org.