Rescued from the hell of ethnic cleansing and the nightmare of an overcrowded Macedonian camp, 161 Kosovar refugees have found safety in Yorkshire - and more are said to be on their way later this week.

A little Kosovan girl waves towards photographers while her mother shows signs of uncertainty as she gets off the plane at Leeds/Bradford airport.

Traumatised, frightened, relieved and grateful... these were all words used to describe the feelings of the displaced Kosovar Albanians who touched down at Leeds/Bradford Airport.

Previously seen only as distant TV images of despair, the weary passengers appeared shockingly real to the waiting Press as they climbed down the steps of a Bulgarian airliner to begin a new life in a strange country - not knowing how long it will be before they can go home.

One ambulancewoman was in tears as she watched 80 bewildered children, their mothers and some men make their way to escort coaches, accompanied by paramedics, doctors and voluntary agency workers.

Waiting for them was an initial reception area and then "home" at two former nursing homes in Leeds, where they will receive care and counselling.

But the city's director of social services told the Evening Press that he has discussed the refugee arrivals with North Yorkshire County Council and that there was a possibility that some of the current refugees may eventually want to move elsewhere, possibly to our region.

Keith Murray said: "When we start thinking about the long term needs of the refugees, some of them may choose to live elsewhere, away from Leeds.

"We have already been in touch with other West Yorkshire authorities and we don't anticipate that all 161 refugees will stay in the city. I have been talking to the chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council about the problem and Leeds has hosted a meeting of several authorities, in which future problems were discussed so that we can slowly get ourselves into a state of preparedness.

"In Leeds the refugees will go to buildings that would normally be used to provide long term shelter to those in need."

After praising the warm welcome given by Yorkshire's doctors, ambulance staff, counsellors and airport staff, Nick Hardwick, of the Refugee Council, confirmed that there would be more refugees arriving soon.

He said: "Discussions are happening about how we can up the scale of this. We are not going to leave people in those conditions. We are preparing for more flights this week."

One of the first emergency staff to board yesterday afternoon's Air Via flight in Leeds was Cathryn James, clinical standards manager with the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service.

She told the Evening Press what she saw: "There was just incredible sadness. All the faces on the plane were very weary. Some of the children wore little smiles but some just looked shocked."

Most of the refugees didn't need special medical attention, but Cathryn and her colleagues had to look after an 11-year-old boy with muscular dystrophy.

The 161 arrivals had left behind a muddy, vastly overcrowded and insanitary camp only hours earlier. Anne Thomas, of the Refugee Council, said: "There were 80 children on the plane, with eight under two years old. The rest were mainly women but some men have come over.

"The have been staying in Macedonia for three weeks, living with very basic facilities and they are in a pretty poor shape.

"Some people on the plane have relatives in the UK and we are doing our best to make sure they get together with them, but they could be anywhere in the country."

A member of the Air Via plane crew gave a glimpse into the mood on board the three and a half hour flight from Skopje.

Steward Vendzislav Shipkaliv, from Bulgaria, told a press conference: "There was not such a good atmosphere on board the plane. These people have been staying in camps for more than 20 days, with shortage of food and water.

"Some of them didn't know where they were going and some didn't speak during the journey. You can see they are frightened in their eyes."

The evacuees will allowed to stay in Britain for at least 12 months.

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