A Lancashire man who travelled to Poland to search for a refugee to whom he could offer a room under the Homes For Ukraine scheme is waiting for the green light to bring him back to the UK.

Max Fox, 32, travelled to Przemysl, near the Ukrainian border, to help with humanitarian efforts, and with the hope of being able to offer space in his two-bedroom flat to somebody fleeing the Russian invasion.

Mr Fox made contact with a 26-year-old man named Vlad on Friday, and said he put the application through to the UK Government scheme as soon as he could.

“We have submitted the application and are now waiting for the green light to fly him over,” Mr Fox told the PA news agency.

“In the meantime I’m going to keep him in a hotel pending the outcome of his application as the Government have given no timelines of how long it will take.”

Mr Fox, who lives with his husband in Poulton-le-Fylde, first made contact with Vlad online and then travelled to Krakow to meet him.

He said: “He was in Poland when the government enforced the conscription.

“So he hasn’t been able to go back and see his parents who live in the west (of Ukraine) – they are too afraid to leave.”

He said he knew little about Vlad but was glad to be able to meet him before he travelled to the UK.

“It’s been exciting but nerve-racking at the same time,” he said.

The first phase of the Homes For Ukraine programme allows UK sponsors to nominate a named Ukrainian or family to stay with them in their home or in a separate property.

Those offering to host will be vetted and Ukrainian applicants will undergo security checks.

Mr Fox, an artistic director for a group of hotels in Blackpool, said he and Vlad hope to set up a website to link Ukrainian refugees with people in the UK to help others in the same situation.