A Ukrainian coffee shop owner in Evesham has cried tears of gratitude after seeing the town come together in support of her homeland.

Lyubov Naydenova runs Divine Coffee on Port Street but in recent weeks her mind has been elsewhere, concerned with the events unfolding in her native Ukraine.

Her family live in Sarny, a small city in western Ukraine, and Lyubov now spends each day fearing the worst.

She said: “I don’t know what to say, it is a very horrible time for all of us.

“It’s hard to talk about because I’m watching the news every day and it is very hard to go to work and concentrate because I’m all the time thinking about my parents, calling them every hour. It is a big stress for me.

“I can hardly stand to watch the news because I see, every single day, small children dying.”

Where her parents live has not been directly attacked but has been inundated with people who have fled central and eastern parts of Ukraine.

Lyubov added: “My country is very damaged at the moment because of the Russian aggression.

“A lot of children have died and too many civilians, hundreds every day.

“My father is over 60, he tried to sign up to the military but he is too old, he wants to be in the army.

“My family are volunteering, every day helping people who have lost houses, lost everything, and fled to the west.”

In Evesham there has been countless acts of solidarity and fundraising events organised as the town comes together in support of Ukraine.

The response has been overwhelming for Lyubov but she is well aware that more still needs to be done.

“I was crying because all these people are coming together, wanting to help,” she said.

“All of Europe must be together because it is not only aggression to Ukraine.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re Ukrainian, Eastern European, English. It doesn’t matter which country you are from; we need to be strong, stand together and help each other.

“Together, we have the power to stop Putin.”