Video: Cambridgeshire farmers send lorries of aid to Ukraine

A Cambridgeshire farming family is helping to send lorry loads of food, warm clothing and medical supplies to Ukrainian refugees.

Craig Taylor and his cousin Ross Taylor, who farm in the Fens at Pymoor, have joined forces with local organisations and businesses to create Ukraine Lifeline.

See also: Five farmer-buying groups unite to raise £88,000 for Ukraine

The Taylors are working with registered charity Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue (CamSAR), haulier Buffaload Logistics and fresh produce company G’s Fresh to send the aid to a distribution centre in Poland.

Watch this video of the first two lorries leaving for Poland.

An army of volunteers have, so far, sorted and filled more than eight lorries with much-needed supplies.

The group has also collected more than £50,000 in cash donations, including over £28,000 raised via the CamSAR’s fundraising page.

The money will go directly towards purchasing the supplies most in need. This includes essential food, warm winter clothing and medical supplies. 

Food has also been donated by Cambridgeshire grower Glebe Farm.

“We have now received aid donations worth around £2m and have enough to send about 25 lorry loads in total,” Mr Taylor told Farmers Weekly.

Aid from County Durham

Cefetra volunteers raise aid for Ukraine. © Cefetra

Elsewhere, a convoy of three artic lorries has left County Durham, with aid to help thousands of Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

Grain and feed merchant Cefetra has organised the lorries, which are due to arrive in Przeworsk on Saturday afternoon (26 March).

Mick Brennand, operations manager at Cefetra, said: “The generosity of people has been outstanding and the logistics of making this happen has been a real team effort.

“We feel extremely privileged to be able to do our bit by using our access to large transport vehicles, and we only hope that it goes some way to making the lives of Ukrainian’s a little more tolerable.”

Bicester Hunt support

Meanwhile, supporters of the Bicester Hunt with Whaddon Chase have set out on their own journey across Europe to drop off donated items to support Ukrainian refugees in Poland.

After launching an appeal locally two weeks ago, volunteers from the hunt, which is based near Bicester in Oxfordshire, have been hastily collecting and sorting a number of essential items.

These include clothing and sleeping bags from local supporters and members of the public who wanted to help those in need.

A 24ft trailer, donated by Heygates, travelled across France and Germany, before arriving in Poland.

Anthony Mckenzie, joint-master of the hunt, said: “This has been a fantastic community effort and we would like to stress our sincere thanks for everyone who has taken part.”