Sunderland schoolboy walking 100 miles in a month to raise money for Ukraine as refugees continue to flee Russian attacks

Leland Brannigan, 7, from Pallion, will walk 100 miles all around Sunderland for the next 30 days in order to raise money for the British Red Cross Ukraine appeal.

Leland, who is a student at Highfield School, on Ford Estate, was shocked after seeing the scenes from Ukraine on television and immediately wanted to do something to help innocent people forced to flee the country.

The youngster started his walking challenge earlier this month and is determined to see it through right up to 100 miles, with a planned finish date of April 12.

Leland’s mam, Tina Brannigan, and the rest of his family are full of pride for what the young schoolboy is doing.

“I am very proud of Leland,” she said.

"He has a heart of gold and myself and his dad and I couldn’t be more proud of him for wanting to do this.

"He thought of this idea to raise money by himself and Leland has the full support of his family and friends.”

The money raised by Leland will go towards providing medication, clean water, food and more for refugees fleeing the war-ravaged country.

Since starting his challenge earlier this month, Leland has been praised by those around him and has even been awarded a Citizenship Award at school for his efforts.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started last month, people all over Sunderland have come together for the country by showing an incredible amount of support, with several collection points for vital donations set up across the city.

With towns and cities under constant attack by Russian forces, the United Nations has confirmed more than three million people have fled Ukraine, with most crossing the boarder into Poland and thousands more seeking refuge across Europe.

As of the close of business on Monday (March 21), the Home Office had confirmed it had issued more than 12,000 under the Government's Ukraine family scheme, with a total of 32,500 applications submitted, although Downing Street has indicated it will not remove work restrictions on asylum seekers, despite growing pressure to relax existing rules.

To find out more about Leland’s story and donate to his challenge, visit his fundraising page – https://gofund.me/f03a7fc7

For the latest news and information about the Ukraine invasion click here for NationalWorld coverage.

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