'We host Ukrainian refugees and our bills are soaring - we thought it would be a short-term stay'

When war broke out in Ukraine, Stockport mum Lisa Raynes wanted to help. She used Facebook to offer her home to those in need and was quickly matched with a family.

Within weeks, Lisa had two refugees living with her in Gatley. Angelika Zonzova and her husband Valerii moved up from London while their sons, Dorian, 17 and Camuil, 15, remained in Ukraine.

It took a while for the teenagers to join their parents in the UK. The pair found refuge in the Czech Republic while Lisa arranged their visas. When everything was approved, Lisa's husband collected the boys and their cat Matilda from Prague.

The Ukrainian family, along with Lisa, her husband and three children, now all live together in a five-bedroom house. Lisa anticipated the family would stay with them for around six months.

But as the cost of living continues to rise, the architect is keen to find the refugees their own home to settle into – but is struggling to find a private landlord willing to take them on.

"We live in a five-bed extended semi," Lisa, 50, told the Manchester Evening News. "It's not enormous; we're just a normal house.

READ MORE: Relocation worries for Ukrainian refugee families as time with hosts nears end

"We've made two rooms available - one for the parents and one for the boys. We've had to turf out one of our children to make room. Alex is 20 and at uni, we've cleared him out of his room and put his stuff in bin bags.

"It's not like we live in a mansion where they can live unnoticed for months and years. It does have a knock-on effect on us."

Since moving to Greater Manchester, Angelika has taken up a cleaning job at a hotel while Valerii is working as a welder. Dorian and Camuil have both been enrolled at The Kingsway School. Due to