There were tears of joy when brothers Stach and Iwan Senejko met for the first time in 57 years.

The Ukrainians may have been torn apart by World War II - but more than half a century later it was Stach's prized cow which finally helped bring them back together for an emotional reunion in Bradford.

The 72-year-old retired farmer sold the dairy cow for around £70 to help raise the £500 he needed to visit his older brother in Great Horton.

And after he travelled more than 2,100 miles by coach and boat over three days, the brothers wept and hugged as they met for the first time since 1941. Back then they were living in the small village of Wojutychi when 18-year-old Iwan was snatched by German soldiers from his sister and six brothers.

None of the family knew he was safe until Iwan, who has vowed never to return to the Ukraine, wrote to his mother in 1953 saying he was well.

Stach still remembers the night his brother was dragged away. "I was just 13," he said. "The German soldiers just came and forced him to go with them. It was just terrible. We did not have any idea where he was or if he was dead or alive." Iwan, now 77, was taken to Germany where he worked in the mines for two years before joining the Ukraine Army to fight the Russians.

While fighting in Austria he was captured by British soldiers and spent four years in PoW camps in Italy and England. He was released after the war and married his late wife Anna in 1950.

Iwan's son Michael, 46, of Bierley, Bradford, said he was just happy to see his dad and uncle reunited.

"I hope to go to the Ukraine in the near future, but it is so expensive to get there," he said. "I now know I have a lot of relatives over there."

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