IT was a TVseries that brought to life the horrific events of more than 30 years ago.

But the programme that charted the Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion in 1986 has led to an unexpected spin-off as a Scots charity that helps children affected by the disaster saw a huge increase in volunteers looking to help.

For over ten years, the tiny Friends of Chernobyl’s Children West Lothian charity has battled to raise the money needed to bring groups of around 22 children each to stay in the homes of ordinary families for a month at a time, over a five year period.

A group of children from Bykhov in Belarus, one of the areas most contaminated by the radioactive fall-out from the nuclear disaster, are now coming to the end of a refreshing month-long stay in family homes in West Lothian, which has seen them enjoy the kind of summer many Scots children taken for granted. 

There have been trips to outdoor centres and a castle, they’ve explored heritage sites including New Lanark and – a first for the children whose Belarus home is mostly pancake flat – climbed a hill. 

For four busy weeks which have included trips to the doctor and dentist for a health check-up, they have been able to live without being haunted by Chernobyl’s deadly legacy. 

But while it’s a bitter-sweet moment for the small charity, support has come from the five-part HBO dramatisation of the disaster. 

“We were looking for new families to step in for next year, so I placed a social media advert on the last day of Chernobyl being screened,” says group organiser Kenny Turnbull. 

“We would normally struggle to find families who can commit to five years. We were looking for 10, but because of the programme, we got 44 replies. 
“We tell families all they need is a big heart and a spare bed, in return they have a fantastic experience seeing these children so happy.”

The series traces the story of the 1986 explosion which saw reactor four in the V.I Lenin Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine, erupt when unsanctioned experiments went horribly wrong. 

The incident led to radioactive material escaping from the plant, sending a contaminated cloud of dust over Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and most of Europe.

However, it took several days before the incident was confirmed, after the alarm was raised when Swedish power plant workers were with suspiciously high radioactive particles on their clothing. 

Belarus received an estimated 60% of the contamination, affecting at least seven million people. In some areas, contamination was at the same level as that of the official Chernobyl contamination zone. 

Studies have claimed the children whose parents were exposed to radioactive fallout in Belarus have twice as many mutations in their DNA as British children, raising their risk of genetic diseases, spontaneous abortions and congenital malformations.

There have also been increased incidence of thyroid cancer, while Chernobyl’s legacy is said to have sparked high levels of depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems. 

The positive impact of spending a little time away from their humble wooden homes and the poverty that grips many of their lives, is often plain to see. 

“Even in one visit you see a huge improvement in their health,” Mr Turnbull explains. “We take a picture of every child before they come, and towards the end of their stay you can really see the difference – they look much healthier and happier in space of one visit. 

“One little girl was so shy, frightened and introverted when she first came, but you can see over the five years how she grows to become much more sociable and healthier. 

“One of the things we see most is an improvement in their confidence. They are smiling.”

The group makes regular visits to Belarus to meet families in their own homes and to deliver packages of vitamins – which the children take every day – food and to offer help with living conditions. 

“Usually children come from wood houses with an outside toilet and a well,” he adds. “Even basic things like washing their face means they have to go outside to get a bucket of water.

“In winter, the weather can be -30 and in summer +30 – it can be a harsh life. 

“When we visit, we take food and ask to put it in the fridge. That’s when we see that there’s nearly nothing to eat,” he adds. “They might grow their own food because they’re too poor to buy it, but what they’re growing is in contaminated soil.”

Research by the World Health Organisation in 2009 showed that every month children spend away from the irradiated zone should boost the chance of prolonging their lives. Some research even claimed it could lengthen life spans by up to two years. 

The break is said to give their immune system respite from battling contaminates, leaving them better placed to fight viruses and bugs. 

“We have a little girl who’s now 16 years old and was diagnosed with bone cancer two years ago,” adds Mr Turnbull. “Another lost her little brother to cancer when he was only two years old. 

“It’s harder to see the mental health impact. One little girl found her grandmother dead after she took her own life, and witnessed her mum being stabbed.”

Among the difficulties, however, are many signs of hope. “It’s incredible to see children who came here in 2005 and have gone on to go to college or get jobs.”

The current group of visitors will now make way for a new group who will begin their five years of summer respite next year. They will come from Kilmavichy, reached by passing the highly contaminated town of Veprin, where in 1990 just six of the 70 children living there were classed as ‘healthy’. 

Meanwhile Mr Turnbull is preparing for his 16th trip to Belarus to deliver a new wave of support in the form of food and vitamins for its children.

“When we went years ago, the people would tell us that we were the first visitors they had seen since the disaster,” he says. 

“They thought the world had forgotten them. In many ways, it had.”