A mum from Ukraine has told of her frustration at being rejected from more than 20 job applications since arriving in Southampton.

Anna Shtokalova, 37, came to Britain to provide her nine-year-old son Matty with a "normal" education after war broke out.

She found a family to live with under the Homes for Ukraine scheme and settled down in the city in July - with her priority being finding her son a school.

She started searching for jobs in October.

Daily Echo: Anna Shtokalova, 37, and her nine-year-old son, MattyAnna Shtokalova, 37, and her nine-year-old son, Matty (Image: Anna Shtokalova)

In Ukraine, Anna worked in a hospital in Kyiv as head of the international patients department, often dealing with patients coming to the country to treat infertility.

Since arriving in the UK, she has been rejected from more than 20 jobs - including administrator and receptionist roles.

She confessed this has left her frustrated as it’s been the only thing she has been focusing on.

Anna said: “It's quite frustrating, sometimes I'm very disappointed but I'm still looking because I don't have any other option. Especially when I don’t get any response, because I'm just really sitting and waiting.”

She told the Echo she has heard from other Ukrainians in Southampton who share the same problem.

She added: “I'm not the only person who is just stuck in such a position because plenty of my Ukrainian girls here as well, they have the same problem, like me.”

READ MORE: 'When the war broke out we just knew we had to do something'

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Anna says she doesn’t understand why there have been so many rejections.

She said: “There were some positions to which I applied, and it was temporary work, for example, for nine months to cover someone's maternity leave as well, but it's still not working. And I don’t know why.”

Anna added: “I'm looking for anything.

“I have applied for patient coordinator, administrator, and receptionist - even as a librarian assistant."