Couple offer helping hand to young victims of Chernobyl

Chris and Karola Woods will swim 64 lengths at a Sheffield sports centre later this month and hope to raise 800 to fund trips organised by the Chernobyl Children's Project.

Money raised by the swimming marathon will pay for flights so children from the region can spend time at the couple's home.

Belarus was the country harmed most by the Chernobyl disaster in April 1986, where radiation blew towards the country after a nuclear power plant explosion in neighbouring Ukraine.

It is considered the worst nuclear accident in history. The area is still affected by radioactivity. The Chernobyl Children's Project charity gives children from the region a month's break from the environment and claim that such a holiday can add two years to the life of a child from the region.

Families and couples provide a home for two children aged eight to 12 for two weeks in July and August.

It gives children the opportunity to have a fun time with lots of fresh air, healthy food and care.

The sponsored swim is being hosted by Sheffield's Concord Sports Centre on April 23, and staff have donated free swimming and badminton passes to families who host children this summer.

Centre manager Richard Apps said: "What Chris and Karola are doing is incredibly worthwhile. By giving up just two weeks of their time, they can extend a child's life dramatically. "These children have done nothing wrong so anyone who can give up a fortnight for them is really doing something fantastic."