The Fernhurst Hub is hosting a ‘handsome bird’ called UkrainiHen as part of the Haslemere Hens charity event.

The hub has a regular Thursday afternoon social get together for any Ukrainian guests staying in the wider local area.

These teatime gatherings provide a chance for displaced families and their hosts to meet up with others and share experiences and information, and to talk in their native language. All are welcome – with no need to book – and tea and homemade cake is served free of charge.

The UkrainiHen – which is in the vivid colours of the Ukrainian national flag and has proved very popular with visiting Ukrainian children – is one of several painted by Zoe Oliver from creative art group Canvassing Happiness. It will stay at the hub until the early autumn auction of all Haslemere Hens, with money raised being given to local charities and clubs.

Viktoriia Vitenko – who is staying in Fernhurst with her mother-in-law Vera and her two children, Tim and Daria – has started volunteering at the Fernhurst Hub.

She said: “I love coming to the hub after dropping the children at school.

“Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming and I practise my English while I am working.

“The children feel at home here as well and we come here to meet friends and have an ice cream as a treat sometimes.”