Harborough man is finally home after being stuck in Poland

A young Market Harborough man trapped in Poland by the Europe-wide coronavirus lockdown has finally flown home.

Relieved Brad Williams, 27, is back with his parents in Harborough after managing to find a rare flight into Heathrow on Saturday night (March 28).

The English teacher said he was thrilled to be back in the UK after forking out 200 Euros for the 150-minute LOT journey from Polish capital Warsaw.

Brad’s made it back to these shores after the story of his plight was told in the Harborough Mail earlier in March.

Catching up on the full-page article, he told the Mail: “It’s a great relief to be reading this back in Market Harborough.

“I just had no idea when I’d be able to track down a flight into England.”

He added: “I was forced to hang on the phone over 90 minutes to book my ticket and it cost me four or five times what I’d usually pay.

“But all that counts is that I’ve managed to return home at a time when this incredible crisis is gripping the whole world.”

Brad jetted into Krakow, Poland, on Friday March 13 to work to escape a tough new virus lockdown in Naples.

But the keen footballer and bodybuilder had hardly got off the plane when Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki declared he was banning foreigners.

Just 24 hours later the Polish leader also suspended all international flights and trains in an attempt to beat the fast-moving virus.

“I’d worked in Krakow for two years until leaving last autumn to move to Naples in southern Italy.

“I was hoping to teach a few of my former Polish students but the prime minister soon put an end to that,” said Brad, from Lubenham Hill.

“I was staying with a friend near a lake on the edge of Krakow but was desperate to get home once my mission became impossible.

“I tried frantically day in day out online to set up a flight but they vanished into thin air as soon as they appeared.

“So I was delighted when this Polish airlines service popped up out of the blue even though they made me pay well over the odds for a seat.”

The former Welland Park Academy and Robert Smyth Academy pupil headed to Naples last September after spells teaching in Krakow and Volgograd and St Petersburg in Russia.

“I was loving it until the coronavirus pandemic knocked Italy for six.

“The north was very much first in the firing line but the virus quickly started to spread to the south as well.

“The whole of Italy was locked down weeks ago now so I decided I had to get out,” said Brad, whose beloved pet rabbit Steven is being looked after by a friend in Naples.

“Krakow seemed a good idea at the time as I still wanted to work.

“But my masterplan fell apart almost as soon as I pitched up.

“Now after Italy and Poland I’m going into my third national lockdown in March!

“It’s been an insane few weeks – but nobody could have seen this Covid-19 outbreak happening.”

He’s now seriously mulling over his short and long-term future as he self-isolates for 14 days in Harborough.

“I’d love to go back to work in Naples, a brilliant vibrant city, once the dust settles on this terrible threat to all of us,” insisted Brad.

“But I’ll have to weigh up all my career options.

“I’ll certainly have a lot of time to do just that while I’m locked down here for the next two weeks.

“I’d also urge everyone here to stay at home and stay safe because I had a taste of the horrific coronavirus at its worst in Italy.

“And my heart goes out to all the poor people over there at the sharp end who are suffering every single day.”