Ukrainian refugees are to be welcomed into the home of the Bishop of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich, the Rt Revd Martin Seeley (right).

Bishop Seeley is preparing to open his home as part of the Humanitarian Sponsorship Scheme for refugees from the war in Ukraine (story here).

The Government’s “Homes for Ukraine” website was launched on Monday, and crashed briefly under the volume of traffic. By Wednesday, more than 130,000 people had signed up to express their willingness to host.

The United Nations reports that, as of Tuesday, more than three million people had fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

Bishop Seeley said “We have taken a decision as a family to open our home, like others have, to refugees fleeing Ukraine, and look forward to welcoming them as soon as possible into our house.

“Not everyone will be able to offer rooms in their homes, but there are many ways to help. We need a community-wide response of welcome and support, and I urge everyone to do all they possibly can amid this humanitarian crisis.”