'What's taking so long?' Thousands of British families offering sanctuary to Ukrainian refugees are stuck in a massive backlog - with the Home Office 'seriously behind schedule'

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Thousands of British families who have offered sanctuary to Ukrainian refugees were stuck in a massive backlog last night.

More than 25,000 completed applications have been submitted to the Homes for Ukraine scheme – meaning a high number of Britons have matched themselves up with evacuees.

But Government sources said so far only 1,000 visas have been approved.

And the number of refugees who have reached Britain through the scheme is even smaller, with one source putting it at 'dozens'. 

That is a fraction of what ministers promised, showing the programme is seriously behind schedule.

More than 200,000 Britons have volunteered to help through Homes for Ukraine which offers hosts £350-a-month from the Government as a 'thank you' for taking in refugees for a minimum of six months.

Oxford classics don Alfonso Moreno (right), 49, and his family have been matched up with logistics worker Mariia Makliudova (left), 27, who fled Kyiv with relatives

Refugees minister Lord Harrington told MPs this month he expected 'thousands' of evacuees would arrive by now.

Britons who volunteered to take refugees after the scheme opened on March 14 yesterday described their anger and frustration at delays.

One immigration insider told the Mail: 'There haven't been the thousands of arrivals in this country that were predicted by ministers. In fact, there's only been a trickle of perhaps dozens...It's just all very, very slow.'

A Government source said: 'The number of visas awarded so far is not what we would have liked. Things are now moving more quickly and will continue to ramp up significantly, but we can't predict when the rest of the 25,000 applications will be cleared.'

Of the more than 200,000 Britons who have volunteered to help, the 25,000 completed applications will have seen hosts pair up with refugees through social media or existing friendships.

Ministers are under pressure to reveal how much delay is being caused by civil servants still working from home, but a Government spokesman yesterday insisted 'hardly any' were doing this.

The number of visas given to refugees through another scheme for those with family connections in the UK rose sharply this week. A total of 20,100 visas had been approved through the Ukraine Family Scheme by Thursday with the Home Office finalising an average 2,500 a day.

Here we reveal some of the families who have offered to open their homes to refugees but are frustrated by the delays:

REFUGEES IN LIMBO

Partners Rob Leadbeater, 49, and Paul Madraszek, 61, have offered a safe haven to a family-of-five at their six-bedroom home near Worcester.

They will take in translator Hanna Marchuk, 39, husband Volodymyr, 41, and their three children after being introduced to them via a third party on Facebook. 

Partners Rob Leadbeater, 49, and Paul Madraszek, 61 (both pictured), have offered a safe haven to a family-of-five at their six-bedroom home near Worcester

They will take in translator Hanna Marchuk, 39, husband Volodymyr, 41, and their three children (above) after being introduced to them via a third party on Facebook

The Kyiv family are now living in temporary accommodation near the Polish border. Mr Leadbeater said: 'These people need to leave the country now. 

The war is the main issue but you have also got the psychological impact on the children. They are in a limbo situation which is so unhealthy.'

PULL OUT STOPS NOW

Anne and Chris Tattersall have been communicating with a family stuck in Poland for two weeks.

Mrs Tattersall, 62, a former mayor in Torrington, Devon, said: 'It's a war, why can't they just let them in? Then we can process them the same way Ireland did. 

'Every other country has pulled out all the stops, but not the UK.'

Anne and Chris Tattersall (above) have been communicating with a family stuck in Poland for two weeks

Mr Tattersall, 63, added: 'I said that we will pick them up from wherever. If we've got to drive to Poland, then we will drive to Poland – it doesn't matter.

'We can offer shelter and love... I'm sure the majority of people like myself will do anything just to make it work.' 

The Tattersalls are trying to help a woman called Alana, who has a nine-year-old child, and her grandparents.

ANXIOUS TO HELP

Oxford classics don Alfonso Moreno, 49, and his family have been matched up with logistics worker Mariia Makliudova, 27, who fled Kyiv with relatives.

She has been given the go-ahead to come to the UK and is hoping to catch a flight on Monday. 

Dr Moreno told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think Ukrainians are desperate for help and all of us here in the UK are desperate to help Ukrainians.'

SPEED UP PROCESS

Former DJ Alex Lane, 48, and husband David, 38, are due to open up their home in Blackpool to a Kyiv accountant and his family.

They are making their way across Europe but are struggling with the demands of the visa scheme.

Mrs Lane said: 'I have always felt the need to help people in need.

'He has fled his home in a hurry and didn't take all the paperwork with him.'

She added: 'Given the situation these refugees are in, I think the process needs to be sped up.'

Former DJ Alex Lane (above), 48, and husband David, 38, are due to open up their home in Blackpool to a Kyiv accountant and his family