Bristol couple buys minibus to drive Ukrainians to UK

Paul and Emma Heywood were given £5,000 by a friend to buy the bus

A couple has purchased a nine-seater minibus which they plan to drive to Ukraine to bring refugees to the UK.

Paul and Emma Heywood from Winterbourne in Bristol are due to drop off aid at the Polish border later.

They also plan to spend a week travelling to and from Ukraine, transporting people to surrounding countries.

Those with the correct paperwork to enter Britain will be invited to return with the couple in the bus.

Paul, a 49-year-old ex-publican is used to long days and Emma, a 45-year-old former HGV driver, has experience of driving long distances across multiple countries.

However, she said, they were aware of the challenges facing them in a war-torn country.

"We're trying not to get too nervous.

"At the moment we're treating it like a road trip, as we do those all the time.

"We were watching the news and realised we can give money, but it wasn't going to make much of a difference."

The couple loaded the minibus with donations to take to Ukraine

A friend of theirs made their enterprise possible by giving them £5,000 to buy a minibus and also gave them £500 towards their fuel.

To save money the couple has been sleeping in the bus, crammed in between the aid they are transporting.

Mrs Heywood said: "We had a very cold night in Germany.

"We had a camping stove and hot water bottles ready, but we couldn't find the lighter for all the donations."

Among the items they are transporting are supplies for the passengers, including teddies for the children and food for pets.

They have a contact in Poland and said they had arranged the paperwork to allow them to collect refugees.

A Ukrainian friend of theirs in Bristol, who wished to remain anonymous, said she hoped the couple could collect her mother and sisters, if they could arrange their travel documents in time for when the minibus is due to return to the UK.