A SYRIAN family given safe sanctuary in Bradford has issued a heartfelt appeal to the British Government to do all it can to ease the desperate plight of refugees fleeing their war-torn homeland.

Walid Al Ahmad and his wife Esaaf left Syria for Lebanon in 2001 for work reasons but the couple and their three daughters could not return home to Idlib in north western Syria because it was too dangerous.

Mr Al Ahmad, a farm worker, was then diagnosed with cancer in his foot and risked his life to travel over the border by car to a Syrian hospital, his only chance of treatment.

As he crossed the border he saw dead bodies in the street and had to abandon his chemotherapy treatment for a year when the hospital was destroyed.

Last night he and his family spoke about their ordeal from their new home in Little Horton Lane, Bradford.

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Both parents are learning English, helped by their daughters who are already fluent with Yorkshire accents.

They are hoping to find work and come off benefits once they have mastered the language.

Mr Al Ahmad, 38, who has now finished his course of chemotherapy in Bradford, said the family had come to the UK in May last year after being identified as vulnerable persons by the United Nations.

They are allowed to stay in the UK for five years and can then either return to Syria if it is safe or choose to apply for leave to remain here.

The couple's daughters, Rasha, 14, Rachel, eight, and Hala, three, are attending local schools and are thriving, he said.

Mr Al Ahmad, speaking through an interpreter, said the family was feeling settled in Bradford following a very difficult period in which he thought he would die from his cancer.

"We are happy for our children," he said. "The eldest is now deciding what subjects she wants to study. The children can study, not like in our country where it is only war. I would like to build my life in Bradford with my family.

"If I hadn't come here to live in the UK, my life would have gone."

He said Bradford was a good place to put down roots. "Everything is cheap and the culture is suitable because people from different countries are living together."

Mr Al Ahmad said he was keen for the family to integrate.

"It is very important to learn the language and to find the work."

He called on the UK Government to consider accepting more Syrian refugees.

"We are happy here. I want to request that the Government accepts more refugees. It's very dangerous and too many people die every day. We wish other people the same happiness as us."

Mr Al Ahmad said British citizens need not fear an influx of Syrians.

"These refugees from Syria are just looking for a safe place to live. Don't be worried. They are looking for a future for their children."

Mrs Al Ahmad, 29, said: "These refugees are just like you. They are not coming here to destroy everything."

The family said many of their brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles who are still living in Syria were being forced to move around to avoid the fighting, while their children had missed four years of schooling.

Their home village, including their former home, is in ruins.

"All the village was destroyed by airstrikes by the Syrian Army," said Mr Al Ahmad.

The couple's eldest daughter, Rasha, said she felt safe in Bradford.

She recalled seeing tanks and hearing gunfire during one return visit to Syria.

"I think Bradford is a good place. There is a future for us and there is no war. It makes us feel safe."

Family friend and fellow Syrian Bashar Farahat, who is a part-trained doctor, is helping the parents learn to speak English.

He said: "The world has suddenly woken up to what is happening to the refugees. This is the moment to do something."