Children from Belarus arrived in Epsom last week for the start of a four week respite holiday organised by the Mid Surrey Link, part of the national Chernobyl Children Life Line Charity.

The 16 boys and girls, aged nine and 10, are being hosted by local families and will be going out and about on treats and take part in a variety of activities.

Epsom College is being used as a base and the children have enjoyed using the school’s swimming pool and sports centre.

They will also have health checks, with a visit to the dentist and sight checks at Specsavers in Epsom and will receive new shoes donated by the Epsom branch of Clarks.

Although the Chernobyl power plant disaster happened 23 years ago in Ukraine, the effects of the radiation fallout still blight the lives of over a million children.

Health experts claim that a month in the UK with clean air, water and food could add a further two years to their life expectancy.

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