Staffordshire teacher 'over the moon' to be home from Ukraine

Harry Richardson and his wife Alina sheltered from Russian advances in a university basement

BBC Harry Richardson and his wife Alina — Harry Richardson and his wife Alina sheltered from Russian advances in a university basement

A British man forced to shelter from Russia's invasion of Ukraine said he was over the moon to be home.

Harry Richardson, a teacher from Leek in Staffordshire, moved to the country three years ago after marrying his wife Alina, a Ukrainian national.

After sheltering in a basement, they escaped the fighting to Moldova on 3 March, returning home at the weekend.

Mr Richardson said he had been marked by the "cruelty" he had seen but was touched by the community response.

"I never thought I would be in a war," he said. "That was the furthest from my imagination.

"What my wife and I have seen are things we never wanted to see... You see that cruelty, but at the other end of the scale, you also see how that can also bring out the kindness of people, the compassion, the humanity."

Mr Richardson said he will continue to campaign for more support for victims of the war

Harry Richardson — Mr Richardson said he will continue to campaign for more support for victims of the war

Mr Richardson and his family took refuge in a university basement in Uman, sometimes for up to nine hours at a time.

"When I went down those stairs into the bunker for the first time, I stood there and I looked and I thought: I'm on a film set, because that's exactly what it was like.

"For the first couple of days of the war, it didn't seem real, that we were sitting in a bunker with 80-90 other people," he said. "It was cold, it was dark, it was unpleasant, but it hadn't dawned on me the reality."

Since leaving, he said he is more jumpy and anxious. Children banging a bus window as they escaped to Moldova reminded him of gunfire and in his flat above a pub Mr Richardson said he can be frightened by the noise. His wife's grandson regularly sees the war in his dreams.

"You're in the mindset where you're always expecting something to happen, so now being relaxed and being at ease, it takes some adjusting to," he said.

The people of Leek have welcomed him home and the teacher said he was "astounded" by their support. Now he's back, he plans to continue to campaign for more support for victims of the war in Ukraine.

"I need to carry on telling people what it's like out there because when I left I promised the people I was leaving that I wouldn't just stop," he said. "The pressure has to continue."