FORMER York postman John Darvill and his Ukrainian family, who have been driving 800 miles westwards through wartorn Ukraine after fleeing their village near the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Thursday, hope to cross into Poland tomorrow.

John's daughter Ruby, who lives in Haxby, said their progress had been slow because of heavy traffic and regular army checkpoints.

She said they had planned to spend last night at an airport, to have a break - but decided to push on through the night instead. "The airport has since been bombed, so it's a good thing that they moved on," she said.

In a post this morning, John said that yesterday they had managed to cover only 50km (about 30 miles) in nine hours. "Nearly there - we (are) all exhausted and a little moody but still alive and so looking forward to seeing our families," he added. "Then (we will) think what to do with our lives. So many mixed emotions we all have."

Ruby, who spoke to her dad this afternoon, said he hoped to reach the Polish border tomorrow.

John, his wife Yuliia, mother-in-law Olga and the 18-year-old Ukrainian girl they have been giving a lift to, were all OK, just tired and stressed, she said.