THE kindness of a South Cumbrian village is being recognised on a national scale after welcoming dozens of refugees with open arms.

Dubbed the ‘UK’s kindest village’, Arnside has been in the spotlight this year after housing dozens of Ukrainian refugees into the area.

Concerned resident Anna Gorst was appalled by the horrors happening thousands of miles away in Ukraine and posted an appeal on social media earlier this year for villagers to take in refugees.

Since April, dozens of refugees have been welcomed into the village, cementing themselves firmly into the local community.

One 12-year-old refugee Sonya Petrova even sang a traditional Ukrainian song at the Big Jubilee Lunch held in June after only arriving in the area a few months prior.

READ MORE: Arnside welcomes 12 year old singer Sonya Petrova from Ukraine

She is a Grade Eight in both singing and piano and recently began attending Dallam School.

Anna has helped match Ukrainians with local families and raised thousands towards bringing refugees to safety in the UK.

A trustee of Arnside Homes for Ukraine, Anna said she has seen a ‘massive effort’ from the village to support their Ukrainian guests.

And the kind-hearted spirit of the village is being recognised by one of BBC’s leading programmes, The One Show.

A four-minute film featuring refugees, their host families and a Christmas event will be aired today on BBC One at 7pm.

Anna said: “The One Show wanted to do a film on a community of Ukrainians who have settled in the UK in the lead up to Christmas. We were flattered they approached us.

“It was interesting – I’ve never experienced being filmed before and I’m looking forward to see how it turns out. They filmed for over 12 hours and edited it down to four minutes.

“We were throwing a Christmas party as it happened where our oldest and youngest Ukrainian residents switched on the lights.”

Anna said the arrival of the refugees has helped to enrich the Arnside community.

She said: “We wanted to put across a bit of positivity and good news. We’re really proud of what we have achieved here.

“It’s nice to show off the strong links our guests have built in the community. Hopefully it will encourage other people to get onboard with it. Arnside is a very warm and welcoming community and we want to keep that going.

“These refugees have really enriched our community – they’ve brought fun and laughter here.”

To make a donation towards helping to resettle Ukrainians refugees in Arnside, visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/arnsidehomesforukraine?utm_term=VkZXQW4Zm