Ukrainian refugee dumped by Brit after fling begs him to take her back

Ukrainian refugee, 22, who was dumped by British father-of-two after four-month long affair begs him to take her back

• Sofiia Karkadym seen kicking door of Tony Garnett’s rented cottage in Bradford
• Witnesses said she was screaming ‘I love you Tony’ but he didn’t open the door
• Police ‘told her to stay away’ after Mr Garnett ended the four-month relationship

A Ukrainian refugee who was dumped by her British lover returned to the house they shared last night and dramatically begged him to take her back.

Sofiia Karkadym, 22, was seen kicking the front door of the rented cottage she used to share with security guard Tony Garnett, 30, and screaming: ‘I love you Tony’.

But Tony – who made headlines when he left his partner and children for IT manager Sofiia after they welcomed her into their family home when war broke out in Ukraine – refused to open the door.

Sofiia had allegedly been told by police to stay away after Tony called officers to an earlier bust-up on Saturday night when he told her their four-month relationship was over.

She left the home they had previously shared, but returned last night when neighbours heard her yelling at Tony outside, and dialled 999 after she repeatedly kicked the door.

Officers arrived in two vehicles with blue lights flashing, but she scaled a garden wall and disappeared into the night.

Police are said to have searched gardens and local streets with torches before they found her hiding in nearby bushes in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

She was escorted away by two officers while she shouted: ‘Tony, I love you. Please come with me’.

Tony Garnett, 30, left his partner of ten years for Ukrainian refugee Sofiia Karkadym, 22, after 10 days of her living with them. They have split, MailOnline can reveal

Tony Garnett, 30, left the mother of his two children, 28-year-old Lorna Garnett (pictured), for Ukrainian refugee Sofiia Karkadym after 10 days. He has now broken up with Sofiia, but Lorna said she ‘wouldn’t have him back in a million years’

MailOnline revealed yesterday how Tony dumped Sofiia over her alleged heavy drinking and claims that she objected to him putting his two daughters before her.

He told how matters came to a head on Saturday night when she repeatedly stabbed a wall with a knife at their rented house after she got drunk while celebrating his 30th birthday

She had moved in with him and his partner of ten years Lorna Garnett, 28, in Bradford in May after she fled her home in Lviv in war-torn Ukraine and they offered her a place to live.

But just ten days later, Tony moved out with Sofiia after starting a relationship with her, leaving behind Lorna, the mother of his two young daughters.

Tony told how he watched from within the house after Sofiia arrived last night, and urged her to leave before police were called.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, he said: ‘I feared this might happen, that she would turn up at the house when she had been warned by the police not to.

‘She was kicking the front door and shouting and screaming and I tried to talk to her. I had to tell her why our relationship was over.

‘In those few minutes I told her that I was scared of what she might do after I’d seen her ram a knife into the wall in the kitchen several times while she was drunk.

Sofiia Karkadym (pictured) arrived in the UK at the start of May after fleeing the war in Ukraine. She was seen kicking the front door of the rented cottage she shared with him, screaming: ‘I love you Tony’

‘I am a security guard and I can look after myself, but I don’t like violence. And I was worried that when she gets drunk she gets very angry.

‘It was my 30th birthday at the weekend and she ruined it by getting very aggressive after drinking too much and then the incident with a knife happened in the kitchen.

‘I have decided that I don’t want to be in a relationship with her anymore.

‘I have to put my daughters first. She hates the idea that I’ve got two children with my ex-partner Lorna.

‘She was always slagging Lorna off, who has done absolutely nothing to her and took her into her home.

‘It was my decision to leave Lorna and begin a new relationship with Sophia. Lorna isn’t and never has been at fault.

‘All that is over and Sofiia has to accept that.’

Tony revealed that the reasons for rows between him and his ex-girlfriend, included the fact that he had had a vasectomy and could not have children with her.

He added: ‘I do feel terrible at seeing Sofiia crying and screaming.

‘The police asked me several times on Monday whether I wanted them to press charges against her.

‘But I told them that I did not want her to be prosecuted. I wanted her to be given some help with her drinking.

‘I was told by police that she had been warned not to come to my home or to get in touch with me.

‘But within a few hours she got in touch with me from her laptop. I had blocked her number so she couldn’t get through to me on the phone, but she began messaging me.

‘I ignored the messages, and then she suddenly appeared at the front door and was kicking and screaming.

‘I’m glad the neighbours called police because I was scared. And so were the other two Ukrainians who had been staying with us.

‘She wouldn’t go away, and I told her that she needed to sort herself out with her drinking and that I was going to put my two kids first before her.

‘They are the most important thing in the world to me.

‘I was trying to have a conversation with her. I tried to tell her that our relationship was over, but she was shouting and screaming and crying. I dared not open the door to her.’

Tony had earlier packed Sofiia’s belongings in black bin liners ready for collection, saying that he would drop them off for her if she told him where to take them.

Lorna reacted to news of her former partner splitting up from his Ukrainian girlfriend by reportedly telling friends: ‘I wouldn’t have him back in a million years.’

The couple were making plans to visit Sofiia’s family back in Ukraine so that Tony can formally ask her father for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Tony has said their relationship is over

IT manager Sofiia (pictured) was renting a property in Bradford with Tony after he left his partner and children four months ago

The Sun reported how she told pals: ‘I knew it would end in disaster for them — I just didn’t think it would come after only four months.’

She added: ‘He has thrown away so much. He can’t see me because of a restraining order and he hasn’t been seeing the children. But it’s hard to feel any sympathy.’

Lorna was unable to speak publicly about her split with Tony due to court proceedings.

But a friend said: ‘Lorna has been so hurt by all this but she’s strong and her entire focus has been on the children, they are her whole world now.

‘There is no part of her that wants him back, he’s ruined everything.’

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Tony revealed the end of his relationship with Sofiia, saying: ‘I am 100 per cent through with her. We are finished as a couple.’

He told how he had become ‘fed up’ with what he described as her irrational behaviour during the four-and-a-half months they were together.

He said: ‘I can’t take her abuse or anger any longer.

‘I left Lorna and my two children for her, and I made every extra effort I could to help her keep us together.

‘I worked so hard to make this relationship work. I knew that we would look like tw*ts if we broke up because we have a media profile and all the attention that has been put on us on television and on the internet.

‘I also genuinely felt sorry for her. She left her home and her country which was at war and knew nobody here.

‘Yes, I felt and I thought I was in love with her. But there is a side to her which I just cannot put up with any longer. She gets angry and aggressive.

He claimed: ‘On Saturday night she picked up a knife and stabbed the wall several times.

‘It really scared me and I had no choice but to call the police. That doesn’t make me happy at all. But I was worried about my safety.’

The row happened when the two other Ukrainian refugees – Sofiia Rastorhuieva and her boyfriend Illia Tronevych – were staying with the couple.

They had moved in with Tony and Sofiia after he saw a desperate appeal from them on Facebook, asking for accommodation.

Heavily tattooed Tony added: ‘I have made a mistake going into a relationship with Sofiia.

‘As I have said before, my relationship with Lorna was already over and I was really unhappy.

‘But this wasn’t the right thing for me. I have tried to help her. I really have.

‘I haven’t abandoned her and have even been messaging her mother to get her to help with the aid of Google Translate.

‘She may be suffering from PTSD. But she is from Kyiv where there hasn’t been much of the war.

‘I hope that she finds somewhere safe to live and is in a happier place. But she’s not for me.’

Tony Garnett at his Bradford home with his ex-girlfriend’s luggage  and belongings in bin liners waiting to be collected

Tony, who received a barrage of online abuse over his relationship with Sofiia, said he would be looking for a new home, soon and would also part with the other Ukrainian refugees.

He said that Sofiia had sent him a string of messages since the bust-up, saying that she loved him and begging for a reconciliation.

But he said he had told her that he did not want back her back, saying he had already given her ‘chance after chance after chance’.

Tony also accused her of ‘ruining’ his 30th birthday.

He claimed he told her that he would be contacting the local council and the Home Office to try and get her re-housed.

Tony and Lorna first took in Sofiia after applying to be part of the Government’s refugee scheme because they wanted to help people fleeing from war-torn Ukraine.

But Tony grew impatient at how long the process was taking and joined Facebook groups where Ukrainians were looking for sponsors.

He made contact with Sofiia through one of the groups and she arrived in the UK on May 4 and went to live with him and Lorna and their daughters, aged three and six.

He told how they ‘just clicked’ and got on really well straight away, partly because he could speak Slovakian which is similar to Ukrainian.

The pair started chatting in a language Lorna did not understand, staying up to watch TV after she had gone to bed and regularly went to the gym together.

They both said that although they were ‘getting on brilliantly’ at this time, ‘it was no more than that’ and ‘innocent’.

But they ended up ‘finding excuses to touch and brush against each other’ and things got tense in the house.

Tony said he would return home to meals cooked by Sofiia who would tell him how ‘lucky Lorna was to have him’.

Lorna was angry about the situation that she eventually asked Sofiia to leave the family’s home just ten days after she arrived

But she was shocked when Tony told her: ‘If she’s going, I’m going’.

The new couple ended up moved in with Tony’s parents before finding their own place and beginning the process of applying for a permanent visa for Sofiia.

Tony said at the time: ‘I am so sorry for what Lorna is going through, this was not her fault and it was not about anything she did wrong.’

Sofiia added: ‘As soon as I saw him I fancied him. It’s been very quick but this is our love story. I know people will think badly of me but it happens. I could see how unhappy Tony was.’

The couple later talked of their hopes of getting married and having children of their own, once Tony had his vasectomy reversed.

He told MailOnline: ‘I want to propose to this beautiful lady.’

Sofiia said: ‘We are planning our life together. I want to be a mother. I want to have children.

‘I am a young woman so it can wait a few years and I hope that Tony can have his vasectomy reversed so that we can become a family together.’

As their ill-fated relationship made headlines, Tony revealed that he had suffered a torrent of abuse on social media over his decision to leave his family home.

He even spoke of his hopes of launching a pop career after recording a rap about their experiences.

Tony also insisted that his relationship with Lorna was already on the rocks before he met Sofiia.

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