Youngsters from Belarus are enjoying the clear air and stunning views of the Malvern Hills.

Malvern group of Chernobyl Children Lifeline has arranged for six girls and four boys to stay with local families. The youngsters, aged around 11, will stay for a month.

Belarus was the country most effected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The charity has organised the trip for the past 10 years to allow the children to eat and drink uncontaminated food and water and enjoy a better standard of living.

It has organised a variety of activities, including a trip to West Midland Safari Park, plate-painting and a day at Splash.

Dorothy Knights, one of the organisers, said they had raised £5,000 to make the trip a reality.

She said: "It is the most simple things we will be doing that will be the most appreciated. These children are from the most contaminated area of Belarus and to come over here, even for a short period, makes such a difference.

"We organise activities three days a week and the rest of the time they spend with their host families, who each take on two children."

The Chernobyl Disaster happened on April 26, 1986. In the early hours, a testing error caused an explosion at a nuclear power station in north Ukraine.

Over 10 days, 190 tons of toxic materials were expelled into the air and the wind blew 70 per cent into Belarus.

About seven million people lived in contaminated territories, including three million children.

Almost 20 years later, about 5.5 million people, including more than a million children, still live in contaminated zones.