DETERMINED residents of a picturesque Perthshire town are battling bureaucracy to give shelter to Ukrainian refugees.

As previously reported in the Sunday National, people in Aberfeldy were quick to offer their homes and jobs to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

However, the struggle to obtain visas to enter the UK means that not one of the 22 families they are helping has yet to arrive.

Only two mothers with children have so far been granted visas and although it is hoped they will arrive in the next few days, frustration is at “near boiling point” over the time it is taking to get visas for the others.

Some families last week were forced to leave their temporary accommodation in Poland because it was thought they would be in Scotland by now.

One young mother who has been helping Aberfeldy residents connect with other refugees is still stuck in Poland because, like many other Ukrainian mums, she has been granted a visa, but her baby has not.

“It is taking forever,” said hotelier and pub-owner Gavin Price who is leading the effort to bring the refugees over.

“The problem is the visas. It’s all a bit of a mess.”

He said the volunteer teams had been working “overtime” to try and get matches, visa paperwork and disclosures completed, but frustration at how the Home Office was processing visas had reached “its highest levels” and was “near boiling point”.

“Our sponsors have made real friendships with their Ukrainian matches and we just want to get them houses and settled in our community as soon as possible.

“The time this is taking is really not acceptable – some of our families are to be made homeless in their temporary accommodation in Poland.

“Luckily we have managed to secure some temporary Airbnb accommodation to house them while we wait for this painfully slow process to be completed.”

As a result of the community pulling together, support packages have been prepared, as well as welcome packs giving local and administrative information in Ukrainian and Russian.

Donations are also flooding in to help the effort, including £625 from Yes Perth.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help pay for temporary accommodation, transport and support packages of clothes, toiletries and toys for the families when they arrive.

“What these families are going through right now is unimaginable and we want to do everything we can to welcome them to our community,” said Price, who is also manager of Elgin City FC.

On Friday, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel apologised for the problems which have blocked thousands of Ukrainian refugees from entering the UK.

Only 12,000 – just over a quarter of those Ukrainians who have been granted visas – have reached the UK. Many of those already granted visas are still struggling to obtain visas for babies and other family members.

In total, the UK Government has granted 41,000 visas to Ukrainians refugees fleeing the war. Of these, 28,500 were issued under the Ukraine Family Scheme and 12,500 under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme, which allows people to sponsor Ukrainian refugees.

However, only 10,800 have arrived under the family scheme and 1200 under the sponsorship scheme.