THE total number of Ukrainian refugees in East Sussex has been revealed.

East Sussex County Council says 1,000 have settled in the county since the launch of the government’s Homes For Ukraine scheme in March.

More than 600 host families have welcomed those fleeing the war into their homes.

Television presenter Natasha Kaplinsky, who lives near Fletching, is hosting a family from Lviv.

Natasha said she had very personal reasons for wanting to help.

“I come from a family of refugees. My father was a political refugee from South Africa and our family fled Europe in the Second World War, so taking in a family was just something I had to do,” she said.

“I am very privileged to have the space and there was no question in my mind that I needed to do whatever I could to help.”

Natasha helped to establish a community group which has found homes locally for a large number of Ukrainians, and was contacted by Anastasiia Kmit on social media.

After deciding to leave Ukraine, Anastasiia and her family travelled by bus for 24 hours to cross the border into Poland with just a backpack each, sitting between the seats because the bus was so full.

Although the family are relieved to be safe in Sussex, they miss life in Ukraine.

Natasha said: “They are the most amazing family, and we love having them, but they want to be at home. They have left everything, everything they have worked for has just gone.”

Anastasiia and her husband Yarrick ran an Aikido martial arts school in Ukraine. Their students write and ask them when they are coming back.

Anastasiia said: “It is bittersweet for us. Natasha’s family have been so kind and lovely to us. We are really lucky to be here and are very grateful.

“But every morning I wake up and think ‘is it a dream?’. Then I realise it’s not a dream and this is where we have to live now. It’s really hard to be in another country especially when you have not planned to leave.”

Meanwhile, Sarah Whittaker, who owns an equine vet practice with her husband Reuben, have welcomed a family from Kharkov to their home in Northiam.

Sarah, whose grandmother fled Germany as a refugee, wanted to do something in recognition of the help she received in England.

“Reuben and I were keen to help if we could. If we were in the same situation we would hope someone would do it for us,” she said.

Anna and Timur, who ran a chain of heating equipment shops in Ukraine before the Russian invasion, had only recently built a new house.

The family left after waking to the sound of explosions on February 24. They travelled to central Ukraine but decided to leave a month later following an explosion at a nearby oil refinery.

Anna said: “It is impossible to live a normal life when you have air raid alerts several times a day and have to stay in a bomb shelter all the time.”

After registering for the Homes For Ukraine scheme, Sarah found Anna through social media and the family arrived in the UK after driving 2,000 miles across Europe.

County council leader Keith Glazier said: “The community effort to help settle those fleeing the conflict in East Sussex has been tremendous, and I would like to thank all our residents for their help and support.”

The council recently set up the Homes For Ukraine Community Support Grant Fund to distribute £490,000 to voluntary action groups to help them support the work of local networks and community hubs.

The council is also providing laptops and a language welcome guide to Ukrainian guests.