A group of orphans rescued from the war in Ukraine will stay in Callander after being welcomed to Scotland this weekend.
The SNP’s Ian Blackford is travelling to Poland as part of an operation organised by a Perth-based charity boss to help nearly 50 Ukrainian children travel to safety.
The party’s Westminster leader worked alongside Hibs supporters charity Dnipro Kids to secure passage for 48 youngsters to Scotland.
He said the group will stay temporarily in Callander before they later move to Edinburgh for the rest of their time here.
Kids heading to Scotland
Dnipro Kids was founded by Perth-based Hibs fan Steven Carr to help orphans in Ukraine after he visited the country for an away game years ago.
The kind-hearted supporter is now back in the Fair City after spending time in Ukraine assisting the charity.
Mr Carr, who is chairman of the charity, said: “It has been difficult with a lot of work put into getting the children to safety.
“I was absolutely delighted to learn that they have now been given the green light to travel to Britain.
“I have had to spend a lot of time on the phone since I came back but it’s all going to plan.
“I hope now that the latest events in Ukraine don’t cause any issues to their safe evacuation.”
‘We just want to get them to safety’
Mr Carr, who is heading back to the country on Monday to help finalise the evacuation, says he has spoken at length with the authorities in the lead-up to the evacuation.
He said: “We just want to get these children to safety.
“The plan is that we will get them to London first and then spend a couple of days with them in London before bringing them to Scotland.
“We are finalising accommodation for them and already have homes in areas such as Stirling and Callander. Final arrangements have still to be made.”
He added: “The situation in Ukraine is obviously very unstable and unsafe.
“We just have to hope that there are no last minute problems for them while in Poland that cause problems.”
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said that the 48 youngsters have been given the green light to travel to Britain.
The permission comes after SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford raised their plight in the House of Commons on Wednesday, saying then that the Home Office was the “only obstacle” to bringing them to the safety of the UK.
Mr Blackford said it was “fantastic” the children will be able to stay in Scotland and hailed volunteers for raising money.
‘I’m so pleased’
He told the BBC: “I’m so pleased for everybody that’s been involved in this.
“Everybody has come together to support the charity, to support the children, so this is a great story of the humanity and decency of people and those that really want to make a difference.
“This is a good day and I’m looking forward to going out to Poland with the charity on Monday to bring the children back and to get them back here to Scotland.”
Mr Blackford revealed Hibs have agreed to cover costs for the kids when they are able to return to Ukraine once the war has reached an end.
‘I was in a war zone’
Dnipro Kids founder Steven told the club: “I decided at the start of March that I was going to go over. I didn’t really tell anyone to be honest, only a few close friends.
“I didn’t want to worry anyone as essentially I was intending to go into a war zone.
“When I was out there the first time a few weeks ago I managed to get to the border and have a look at the situation there.
“That gave me a good idea of what the situation was like and allowed me to make sure I had the resolve to make sure we got the kids out.”