Pastor preparing for another aid trip to Ukraine

The city of Zaporizhzhia has been the focus of repeated attacks since the Russian invasion

A team of volunteers in Warwickshire are preparing to travel with aid to war-torn Ukraine.

Pastor Jim Morris of Life Church in Bedworth has made several trips to the country over the past two years and he and his team will set off again in October.

They have four vans full of various items including medicine, nappies and clothing to be taken to the south of Zaporizhzhia.

Mr Morris thanked the people of Coventry, Bedworth and Nuneaton for donating the items.

"Everything is a blessing," he said.

"We work with the governor of the state where we go and he's so grateful for everything we can get to him.

"A lot of homes have plywood in the windows after the glass has been blown out.

"A lot of the shops do not have food or medicine in them now."

Rocket attack

He said they had experienced some dangerous incidents during their trips to the country.

"We had two situations there where once, three bombs went off very close to the van and then at the second check-point, rockets went off very close to the van," he said.

"It actually shook the van.

"But when you consider what the people are doing, they're taking more risks than we are, because we only do it that once.

"We go in, we stay, we try to encourage and then we come back out, and they're left behind to deal with the fact that they're being bombed every day."

The four vans they are travelling in are full and he said plans for another trip in March were already under way.

"It's the people of Coventry, Bedworth and Nuneaton that have been a real blessing," he added.

"We're already planning our March trip and I've already got people volunteering to do the driving and saving the finance so they can come along.

"It makes me feel happy that the fact that you've got people like that who just want to help."