A couple from Sheppey now running apartments in Bulgaria are giving free accommodation to Ukrainian families fleeing the bombardments of Russia.

Former Royal Navy sailor Nathan Fenn and his wife Zoe quit their home in Clyde Street, Sheerness, five years ago to manage holiday lets on the coast at Sunny Beach.

But what began as a dream job has suddenly turned into a nightmare as they and their niece Jessica Bird are now helping refugees who are flooding over the border.

Since the invasion began, they have housed, free of charge, 75 people, mainly women and children, and provided food, clothing, medical needs and toys for the children. The money is coming from a Go Fund Me page set up by their friend Iain Maxstead back on the Island.

A recent shop comprised 10 kilos of meat including pork, chicken and beef, fresh veg and fruit, toiletries, bread, milk, pasta, rice, water, tins of veg, baked beans, biscuits, crisps, washing-up liquid and breakfast items.

Nathan, 45, said: "We have been doing all we can to help the Ukrainian refugees who are arriving in Bulgaria seeking salvation and help from the atrocity of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

He explained: "We run a holiday rental business and opened up our privately-owned apartment to a family. Then other owners, whose properties we look after, offered their apartments for free. The response has been phenomenal from friends, family and apartment owners."

He added: "We are dealing with a number of families trying to escape and are in contact with them daily, sometimes hourly. We are also getting calls from the Ukrainian embassy here in Bulgaria asking us to help all we can to house people.

"This has hit home hard, even for someone like me who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and saw other refugees displaced. I was in tears when one woman sobbed her heart out as we handed her the keys to her new home and she realised she was now safe."

The couple, who are also looking after four rescue street dogs, are handing out pre-paid sim cards so families can phone their loved ones back home - often men aged 16 to 60 who have to stay to fight or the elderly who have refused to leave their homes.

Niece Jessica Bird, 23, originally from Birmingham, has switched from her usual role of bookings manager to helping the families arriving and assessing them to ensure they get what they need.

She said: "They seem quite shaken up and traumatised when they arrive. It is a long journey. It usually takes six to seven hours by car and then they are often having to queue at border control for another seven hours."

Nathan said: "You have to remember that these people are leaving their country as it is being bombed. They leave with what they can. Some don't even have their passports. The people we had yesterday only had their birth certificates. The authorities are being really good but it still takes time."

He added: "Many women are facing tough times with their children or grandchildren, alone in a strange country with little or no understanding of how they will get through this shockingly sad situation, fearful they will never see their loved ones again.

"We can, and will, support them and provide all we can to ensure they have a safe place to stay and food to eat. It's a tall order but it's heartbreaking to witness. However, we shall do our very best to make this situation as easy as possible for the good people of Ukraine.

"We have dealt with them before with our rental business and they are lovely, kind, generous people. They don't deserve this. There is no justification.

"Vladimir Putin has lied through his back teeth. He said he was going to the two disputed regions on a peace-keeping mission. The next thing you know, he has invaded the whole country. He's despicable. It makes me wonder if he is trying to get the old Soviet Union back together."

Mr Maxstead said: "I wanted people to realise what one Sheppey couple are doing. We should be very proud of them."

He said the couple's work had been made possible by donations from Islanders including including Tanya Mace of Sheppy Glass and landlords Wendy and Ian Gilbert. He added: "So many others have gone out of their way to help the families suffering the war brought on by Putin."

His Go Fund Me Page here is hoping to raise £5,500 and has already reached nearly £4,000.