PEOPLE trying to bring Ukrainian refugees to Malvern are becoming frustrated with delays they are experiencing.

A number of people in the town are trying to help re-home Ukrainians fleeing the war, but say they are encountering difficulties with visa applications and tracking the status of the people they are helping.

Alison Maddrell is part of a group of people in Malvern trying to help refugees.

Up to 30 refugees are being hosted in West Malvern alone, with other towns and villages in the district signing up to help.

Mrs Maddrell spoke of how hard it had been to receive updates, saying: "The main issue we face is the interminable wait after we have found our own guests, wading through lengthy application processes and confirmation emails.

"Many of us applied in the very early days: March 18, 19 and 20, and certainly struggled when it came to understanding exactly what we needed to provide - all advice was a 'best guess' scenario, guided by others on social media.

"No advice or help was forthcoming from any relevant authority."

Mrs Maddrell is hoping to rehome two Ukrainian women and their children, but said the children appeared to have become lost in the system.

She added: "We quickly realised there were no helplines or tracking system and even after a rudimentary system was put in place, we were told no more than 'wait'.

"In my own case, I was told that the two mums I aim to host were in the system but their four children were nowhere to be found.

"I asked for advice  only to be told that the lady handling my call didn't know.

"I could either wait, or reapply using a different email address.

"Would this overload an already weighty system? Put us to the back of the queue? Either way it seemed nonsensical.

"There is now a Home Office hub but that has since seemed to grind to a halt due to the overwhelming amount of requests for information."

One of Mrs Maddrell's group, Rob Leadbeater, said he only managed to receive help from Malvern MP Harriett Baldwin after the Daily Mail became interested in his case.

Mr Leadbeater and his partner Paul are trying to help the Marchuk family.

One of the family's children, Mykhailo, is only six-months old, so there have been problems finding him in the system.

Mr Leadbeater said four of the family's five visas have been processed, with the fifth assumed to be Mykhailo.

Now, the Marchuk family is travelling via Lviv, with Mykhailo's paperwork still being processed.

According to Mr Leadbeater, a lack of support is preventing more people from helping.

He added: "This poor family, let alone me don’t know what to do for the best.

"When they leave their current accommodation in Lviv they will not be able to return, but there is no clear answer as to what the next stage is."

Responding to the concerns, West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin reiterated she and her staff are helping people in Malvern process their applications.

She said: "I know that some people are frustrated by the process but I want to reiterate that we are having to carry out checks at the request of the Ukrainian government and also to make sure that all safeguarding risks are considered.

"I’m pleased to say that over a third of the visas that I have been chasing have gone through and more are coming through each day.

"Each constituent asking about their Ukrainian guests’ visas is receiving a daily e-mail update from me about their case."