A 12-year-old refugee who fled the war in Ukraine has joined Welwyn Garden City Youth FC, with the club delighted to provide the youngster with somewhere to play football.

Dmytro Petrovskyi recently moved to the borough after escaping Vinnytsia, a city 160 miles south west of Kyiv, but their parents have stayed in Ukraine.

Football mad Dymtro plays for the academy side of FC Nyva Vinnytsia, a Ukrainian Second Division club and his hometown team.

He will now be turning out for Welwyn Garden City Youth, with club chairman Kevin Murphy saying: “I was contacted by a family friend of Dmytro to see if we could try and find a football team for him to play for.

“We are all shocked and appalled at the current situation in Ukraine, so Welwyn Garden City Youth FC was delighted to be given the opportunity to provide support.”

Dymtro has already made a bright start with his new team and football has helped return a smile to his face after a traumatic few months.

“The committee were delighted to be able to provide shirt, shorts, socks, shin pads and boots for Dmytro who was able to play for our Welwyn Garden City Youth FC Under 12 Hurricanes team at the weekend,” said Kevin.

“Coming on as a substitute after 15 minutes, Dmytro made an immediate impact, creating a good chance.

“It became very clear that Dmytro is a very talented player and ten minutes later he scored a well-taken goal, much to the delight of his teammates and coaches.

“The smile on his face at the end of the match demonstrated that he really enjoyed playing the match, although he did confide to his sister that football in England is much more physical than in Ukraine.”

“We all hope that the war in his home country ends soon, and that he will be able to be reunited with his parents. Whilst he remains in the UK, we will provide him with as many opportunities as we can to play football.”