The Archbishop of York has called for Britain to welcome Ukrainian refugees to its shore and provide generous humanitarian aid.

Stephen Cotterell also urged the Government to impose the "stiffest possible sanctions" on Russia and tackle the "dubious and dirty Russian money that sloshes around London."

He made the calls in a sermon at St Mary's Church in Tadcaster where he joined in Sunday worship to show solidarity with the town.

Like properties by the River Wharf last week, his home Bishopthorpe Palace by the River Ouse was flooded in the aftermath of Storm Franklin.

The Archbishop said Ukraine must be feeling very alone.

"But there are things we can do," he said, "Such as offering generous humanitarian aid; receiving refugees and supporting countries in the region who will see vast movements of people; imposing the stiffest possible sanctions on Russia, including a long and long overdue hard look at some of the dubious and dirty Russian money that sloshes around London.

"But these things won’t just hurt Russia and make it far harder for them to sustain their subjugation of Ukraine, they will hurt us as well.

"We need to be prepared to make painful sacrifices ourselves, which will affect our own pocket and our own standards of living."

At the start, he had spoken of how his home has been flooded four times since he became Archbishop 18 months ago.

"I didn’t have a church to go to this Sunday," he said,

"And it was when I saw on the news at the beginning of the week that the River Wharfe had flooded again, that I thought it was about time I came to Tadcaster and stood alongside you in what has once again been a difficult time for many homes and businesses.

"My heart goes out to you. Not least, because my house flooded again this week."

He said flooding generally was increasing because of climate change.

"We urgently need to change the way we inhabit the planet, lest we end up so destroying its fragile equilibrium, that floods and storms and forest fires completely engulf us," he said.

"But there are other storms raging in our world at the moment, which even put the inconvenience of a flood into a greater and more immediate perspective."

He ended his sermon: "May our church and our nation listen today to the voice of Jesus Christ, the voice of peace and good order. May Russia also hear the voice of Christ and the voice of peace. And may the people of Ukraine know the comfort, blessing, resolve of Christ in this terrible, dark hour of need.

"And now let us pray earnestly for peace in the world and for the part we must play to make it happen."