WELCOMING families are needed in the Richmond and Catterick area to put up children from Chernobyl who visit the area this summer.

Ten youngsters, aged about ten, are due to spend a month on holiday in the area from July 22, courtesy of the local group of the UK charity Chernobyl Children's Project.

The children, who are currently healthy, live in the contaminated area of Belarus, which still suffers the effects of the nuclear disaster of April 1986.

The Catterick and Richmond group of the charity organises a programme of activities for the visitors, and host families are encouraged, but not compelled, to join in.

An interpreter is always available and previous visits have proved that the language barrier is not insurmountable.

"This is our fifth year and the children are quite remarkable," said Andy Kirkham, of the Catterick and Richmond group. "To come to a country where you don't speak the language and to live with people you have never met would seem quite daunting to many youngsters, but they fit in amazingly quickly."

The group is now twinned with the Belarus village of Korma and is strengthening links with the school there. It recently sent two sewing machines - one for the school and one for the pensioners at the local church - and hopes to dispatch some computers in the near future.

"We are now getting the younger brothers and sisters of the first children who came over," said Mr Kirkham. "Our links with the village and the school mean that children can take back photographs and descriptions of their visit for the groups who will come the following year."

Families willing to take two boys or two girls from July 22 to August 5, or August 5-19, should contact Mr Kirkham on 01748 834792. He is also keen to hear from anyone willing to help raise funds or become involved in the group in any other way.

* The group has a street collection in Richmond on April 20