Ambulance and hospital beds arrive in Ukraine

Alex Donaldson and Steve Challen (left) were among a small group of volunteers from Towcester who drove 1,350 miles (2,170km) to Lviv

Hospital beds and an ambulance full of wheelchairs and crutches were among the medical aid collected by church volunteers, which has now arrived in Ukraine.

The deliveries were organised by St Lawrence Church in Towcester, Northamptonshire, and the Tove Benefice.

Many of the items were donated by West Northamptonshire Council, which had been unable to repurpose them following the closure of Ridgway House care home in Towcester.

"The donations supported those in great need in Ukraine and reduced potential wastage," said volunteer Steve Challen. "What started out as a single ambulance donation has ended up being a multi-team, multi-vehicle effort."

On arrival the volunteers visited a rehabilitation centre for service personnel and met with refugees

The ambulance crossed the Ukraine border on Tuesday, while a van organised by volunteers in Milton Keynes and a lorry with remainder of the beds will be arriving in the war-torn country shortly.

Mr Challen, who was speaking from Lviv, said: "Finding a care home with such great scale of surplus was a real gift to us."

Seventeen hospital beds were collected, which will be donated to hospitals and rehabilitation centres for wounded Ukrainian service personnel.

The volunteers visited one of the rehabilitation centres, which is currently treating about 190 people.

"We met a guy who was wounded and lost his arm and had to travel about 4km (2.4miles) to self-rescue," said Mr Challen.

"We think his brigade actually uses the ambulance we donated last year, which is a powerful connection."

The ambulance the volunteers donated will be deployed in the Kherson district of Ukraine

The ambulance was driven to Mykolaiv, close to the war's front line, where a paramedic team will put it to use.

The group also met refugees and donated £2,000 to a wilderness therapy rehabilitation charity for veterans and bereaved families.

Mr Challen said: "It is a privilege to meet Ukrainian veterans and volunteers during their time at war."

Members of St Lawrence Church have been providing aid deliveries to Ukraine since March 2022, shortly after Russia began its full-scale invasion.

Oleh Naida, a Ukrainian national who is temporarily living in Towcester, has helped arrange for the aid to go to a trusted volunteer network in Ukraine.

The volunteers heard about the work of Lviv-based rehabilitation charity Metta, which organises therapy in the Carpathian Mountains