A dad who left to join the fight in Ukraine without telling his wife or son has returned to his UK home amid fears the trip was "suicide mission".
Ben Spann, who has no military experience, left his oblivious family behind to "join the resistance" against the Russian invasion.
The 36-year-old, Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, runs an anti-knife charity in the area, according to Birmingham Live.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, he explained how he flew into Poland from London Stansted, telling his teenage son and partner that his plan was to help provide aid to refugees.
Instead, he travelled to Ukraine, saying he was willing to die defending the country from the Putin's forces.
He crossed the border and was holded up in a safehouse but began having doubts about the trip as his group awaited weapons and said he had a gun pointed at his head by a "Ukrainian SWAT team" who wanted to vet the new arrivals, who also included four ex-British Army soldiers.
It was only after five days that Spann finally relented on his mission, having received "grief" from his wife and son.
He said: "I became quite close to these guys. We were prepared to go and fight and basically die together, if that was what happened.
"You quickly form a bond with people in those situations. At that point, I was getting some real grief off my wife and my son. My son was doubting whether I even cared about him, why I was doing this - same with my wife."
While in Ukraine, Mr Spann said he saw two dead Russian soldiers propped up as a "warning" to Vladimir Putin's army.
He joined scores of Ukrainians fleeing at the Poland border.
He added: "It reminded me of a cattle market, to be honest… the tension was high."
He continued: "My wife was pretty p***** off saying she was going to kick me out and this, that and the other.
"My son's okay. He never went through the anger process. I just think he was happy and glad I was back out of there."
Spann also warned non-military Brits to avoid travel to the country.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
