A retired firefighter has completed two perilous journeys delivering medical aid to Ukraine.
Peter Bee, 65, and his 70-year-old next-door neighbour Glyn Jordan, from the village of Needham, on the Suffolk/Norfolk border, made a pact over a beer to embark on the 2,200-mile round trip with as many essential supplies as they could get their hands on.
With the support of their local community and businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk, the ex-HGV drivers have raised up to £100,000 in cash and vital medical supplies in less than a month which they delivered by road to Lviv, east of the Polish border, courtesy of a BV106 Ifor Williams Box Van Trailer.
The trailer was loaned free of charge to the pair by IWT dealer Agroco Trailers, based in Needham Market, which handed over a cheque worth £1,000 to boost their efforts. The firm has also supplied further trailers for collecting and ferrying around donations ahead of their journeys.
The best friends, who have been liaising with the charity Caritas in Ukraine, have delivered thousands of pounds worth of trauma kits, tourniquets, bandages, medicine, saline and irrigation solutions for wounds, nappies, baby milk and sanitary supplies – much of which they purchased off Amazon – to the war-torn city.
Despite the high-risk missions, the pair have no plans to stop.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” admitted Peter.
“What made me do it is the fact I have grandchildren myself. I saw a woman on the news whose son had died. She was inconsolable and my wife and I just cried. I said this shouldn’t be happening, we have to do something. By doing something it gives us hope.
“I’m an ex-fireman and lorry driver. We thought we’d just get some stuff together and it all just blew up and got way out of proportion. The first time we took around £30,000-£35,000 of aid down into Ukraine. It was difficult getting over the border as they thought we were carrying guns on board.
“They checked everything while we were holding our hands in the air! Understandably, they are very nervy and it took us a couple of hours to get in and around nine hours to get back.
“The second time we managed to get the right paperwork to go into Lviv and handed over the supplies directly. Two cruise missiles had gone over the day before and we had to be back by 10pm because of the curfew as we would’ve been shot.
“When they opened the boxes, they sobbed in gratitude. This is happening on our door, on our watch. We have to help these people and children.
“We estimate we’ve brought £80,000-£100,000 of aid so far. It’s unbelievable. We couldn’t have done it without the help we’ve received from the village who’ve sorted it all out. Local people have really pulled together. It’s been a fantastic community effort."
Nick Ruffle, a partner at Agroco Trailers, said the firm had already put a couple of box vans aside in case they were needed for aid efforts and were delighted when Peter approached them with his plans.
The scenes confronting both Peter and Glyn on arrival in Ukraine have only spurred them on to do more to help the stricken people.
“They have nothing, everything has been taken from them. It’s harrowing,” said Peter.
“I talked to one woman who’d just driven from Kyiv with her child. She said her husband had stayed on to fight and she didn’t know where she was going.
“I’m an ex-fireman and I’ve seen most things but it’s just appalling. That’s why we have to go back."
Lois Wynne, from Ifor Williams Trailers, said: “We are delighted Ifor Williams Trailers has been able to play an important role in these aid missions and our thanks go to Nick for coming to the rescue when help was needed."
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