Freed Bedfordshire prisoner-of-war who had been sentenced to death in Russian occupied Ukraine celebrates with steak and red wine

Freed prisoner-of-war Shaun Pinner returned to his mother’s home in Bedfordshire on Thursday where he celebrated his release with steak and a glass of red wine.

He was reunited with his mother Deborah Price, son, sister and step-dad at Heathrow Airport at half past six in the morning.

Lyndon Price, his step-dad, said: “ He came back with the others on a British Airways flight.

“The families all came to Heathrow and we met them individually. Everyone had their own room. As you can imagine, it was very emotional. The flight came in about half six. They had a debrief and came in to see us.

“He wants a few days before he can talk. He has been through quite a lot. We are very, very happy that he is home. It is fantastic news.

“His son is here, my wife is here and so is his sister. We are all together.

“I have just given him a shave. I took all his beard off for him. He is well and looks fine. He is so pleased to be home.

“His wife (Larysa) is still in Ukraine. We are hoping to get her over."

Speaking for the first time from his home near Potton in Bedfordshire, Mr Price, a product services manager, said: “They travelled into Riyadh. We believe there was an exchange. They did not know they were going to be released. It just happened.

“It has been a difficult time for him. He was defending Mariupol and lost some of his really close colleagues.”

Mr Price praised the work of his local MP Bedfordshire North East’s Richard Fuller who, along with the Bishop of Bedford, local people and his cricket club, who had supported the family.

He said he was grateful to the Saudis, the government and foreign office staff who had worked behind the scenes.

He went on: “My wife has been through so much stress. We are grateful to the government agencies and hostage international.

“We are just pleased he is alive. We have been living on the edge for months with the death penalty hanging over him.

“We had not been able to talk to him. We went to the Russian ambassador and asked if he could ring. A week or so later he did ring home.

“We also met the Ukrainian ambassador and they were fantastic.”

Speaking about his release, he said: “Shaun rang us on the coach from Riyadh to the British Consul. The Foreign Office had notified us about 11 o’clock on Wednesday morning. My wife received a call to say ‘He is on his way. Don’t say anything until he has landed.’

“They were all given iPhones by the Saudis so they could ring home.”

Mr Price said: “I am sure Shaun has got a lot to say about his experience. What he has gone through is not for the faint-hearted.

“He is tired. He has had a couple of beers. He is going to have steak with a glass of red wine tonight and is looking forward to that. He is living on adrenalin.

“At some stage I think he will want to go back. He loves Ukraine. It may be he wants to get involved in humanitarian work.”

He said he and Shaun, a wicket-keeper batsman, aim to play a charity cricket match for their village team, Waresley. “He loves his cricket. For him and me to play together will be fantastic.”

A Ukrainian flag still hangs from the front of the family’s home. He said: “That flag will be there until such time as they get their country back.”