Iain prepares to deliver more aid to soldiers and residents in Ukraine

Iain Terpening, who runs the Margo & Plum café and homeware showroom, is a volunteer with the charity Pick-Ups 4 Peace, which organises convoys to support a nation which suffered a full-scale invasion by the Russians more than four years ago.

He made his first trip there back in February delivering a 4x4 he bought himself and loaded with aid supplies – he drove around 1,600 miles through France, Belgium, Germany and Poland, before crossing the border to deliver it all to the handing it over in Lviv, a major city in the west of the country. The vehicle he delivered is now being used on the front line of the war.

Iain is now fundraising to make a second delivery in September – he hopes to raise £7k to buy a second 4x4, pay for petrol costs and to load it with more aid, including generators, tools and warm clothing.

He also wants to highlight the challenges Ukraine still faces at a time when the war in Iran is making bigger headlines.

“The Ukraine conflict has now gone on longer than the First World War but it has recently disappeared from the news cycle because of the war in Iran,” Iain told the Melton Times.

“We fly home from near the Ukraine border and it only takes two hours which brings home to you how near this war is to the UK.”

The trip is not without its risks as the convoy crosses the Polish border with Ukraine – the Russians have launched attacks on Lviv.

Iain said: “I did experience air raids and saw bomb damage in my first visit.

"When we get to the border we are met by members of the Ukraine military and escorted by them on our journey through the country.

"This is for our insurance and for our own safety.”

He is impressed with the resilience of the Ukrainian troops and the way they have developed their skills in drone warfare, which are now world leading.

Iain got a flag signed by soldiers of Ukraine's 4th Separate Mechanised Brigade plus fabric unit badges and they are displayed at his business, on the Winterbeck Industrial Estate, along with a montage of photos from the first trip.

The aid he plans to deliver this time will also include bandages, field dressings, netting to go over roads to prevent drone attacks and tyres for 4x4s.

He will also take generators to help keep troops and civilians warm in the winter and to power an orphanage, which has children who have lost their parents in the war.

Iain commented: “When you go to Ukraine you notice that there are few younger men because they are all fighting.

“There are also no tourists and no foreigners so people tend to stare at you.

“I remember meeting a mother and her two daughters.

“She asked us what we were doing and when explained she started crying.”

Go to www.gofund.me/4854c4512 if you would like to sponsor Iain.