A NORTH Yorkshire amateur swimming club has rallied together in order to provide a home and somewhere to train for two Ukrainian refugees set to arrive in the UK within weeks.

Tymofii and Tkyhon and their mother Irina are set to arrive to the UK in weeks where they will be welcomed by the Richmond Dales Amateur Swimming Club and a parent.

As part of the UK’s Ukrainian re-settlement scheme, a member of the amateur swimming club applied provide a home for a refugee family.

Read more: Police ‘growing increasingly worried’ for missing North East man

According to the swimming club when the Richmond Dales ASC heard of the news the board quickly pledged to waive membership fees for both swimmers, allowing them to train and continue their swimming careers.

Once settled, coaches at the swimming club will be waiting to introduce the two committed young swimmers, who formerly swam for a Kyiv based club, to their new teammates and training programme.

The boys and their mothers have encountered a lot of upheaval in recent weeks and months, according to the swimming club, after they fled their home in Ukraine to Bulgaria.

The boys were able to access training sessions in Bulgaria thanks to the Bulgarian Swimming Federation.

Swim England and Richmond Dales ASC will also be raising money via GoFundMe for the families flight into the UK from Bulgaria.

Read more: LIVE: Emergency services confirm first details of incident in Durham City

Friends of the club such as NESS Swimwear are also rallying to support the boys by providing goggles, fins, kick-boards, snorkels and kit bags.

Keith Hall, coach at Richmond ASC said the whole club had been “touched” by the crisis in Ukraine and spoke of the other efforts they had made to help the situation.

He said: “At the outset of the war, club members raised £1900 in under 24 hours and used the money to buy essential supplies.

“We then drove the supplies across Europe and into Poland as part of the Catterick and Colburn community effort, headed by Councillor Angie Dale. 

Mr Hall added that as soon as the club heard that a member was taking part in rehoming a family “we knew we wanted to help.”

He added: “As ever, the whole club has come together along with some very generous friends like NESS Swimwear and Swim England.

“We hope that enabling the boys to join our supportive club will help them settle into their new environment and transition into UK life.”

Read more: Man is 'attacked' while in his own home as two people are arrested

At the time of writing the GoFundMe has raised £700, and you can donate to help here

------

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated North Yorkshire Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 50505