A partially deaf boy from eastern Europe has been reunited with experts in Oxford who helped him return to school by restoring his hearing.

Nine-year-old Artiom Butomay was barred from school in his home country of Belarus when teachers mistook his hearing impairment for learning difficulties.

Artiom lost his hearing when he was three, but could not be treated in Belarus, which is a poverty-stricken country badly affected by radioactive contamination from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in neighbouring Ukraine.

Children still suffer from birth defects or diseases like leukaemia and have an average life expectancy of 40.

Two years ago, during a holiday in the UK organised by the charity Friends of Chernobyl Children, Artiom was taken to the Oxford Hearing Centre, in Eynsham Road, where staff provided him with a hearing aid.

His mother Ludmila was able also to return to work, because she no longer had to look after her son at home.

The charity organises trips for children to have health checks in Britain.

The hearing centre was asked to help Artiom during his first visit to Oxfordshire.

Richard Moss, a registered hearing aid audiologist, said: "His hearing impediment meant he couldn't be a normal pupil in Belarus, and his mother couldn't work as she had to look after him.

"When he was fitted with the hearing aid, we were concerned because he had no English, so we were working with limited interpretation. But we realised straight away we were on to a winner, because a grin lit up his face."

Artiom is staying with Sharon and Mike Ellis and their children Josh, nine, and Theo, four, in Kings Sutton, near Banbury.

Mrs Ellis said: "Oxford Hearing Centre has transformed his life."