A Ukrainian family living with a Sidcup family as said they “feel at home” as they travelled 200 miles to Liverpool to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest.

Olena Ablaieva and her daughter Vasylysa, 14, are originally from Dnipro but are now living with a host family in Sidcup, south-east London, following Russia’s invasion of their home country.

Ms Ablaieva told the PA news agency they were travelling from London Euston to Liverpool and hope to be able to watch the final at Liverpool’s Pier Head, where the Eurovision Village has been set up for fans.

The UK is jointly hosting the contest with Ukraine after last year’s victory by the Kalush Orchestra. UK entry Sam Ryder finished second.

Ms Ablaieva said the train strikes did not affect her plans to head north for the day.

“We do not have tickets, we will watch Eurovision on big screens,” she said.

“We have been living in England for a year in a friendly English family.

“As it turned out, we have many common interests and family values.

“We hope that the war in Ukraine will end soon and all Ukrainian families will be able to be together in safety.

“We knew in advance about the strikes on the railway in London, but we had no doubts about our trip to Liverpool.

"It is important for us to feel the whole atmosphere of Eurovision for ourselves.”

She continued: “We are looking forward to Eurovision 2023, cheering for Ukraine and supporting England.

“In my opinion, Liverpool is fully prepared for the Eurovision final and it’s nice to see Ukrainian flags and Ukrainian symbols everywhere.

Have you got a story for us? You can contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletters to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

“I feel at home. We appreciate your support and our friendship.

“We also want to do something nice for people from England.

“I have brought some presents from Ukraine – sweets from AVK, which I want to share with everyone who wants to know a bit more about Ukraine.”