UK couple may have to evict Ukrainian refugees owing to planning rules

Rosemary and Anthony Duckett, photographed with their former tenants Liubava Ignatcko and her daughter Ariana, outside the room above their garage. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

A couple who the prime minister thanked for housing Ukrainian refugees have been told by their local council they may have to evict their current guest due to planning rules which the couple describe as “bureaucracy gone mad”.

Rosemary Duckett, 80, a retired magistrate and former chair of her local YMCA, and her husband, Anthony, 88, have been providing accommodation in a room above their garage to Ukrainian refugees since 2022.