Men from Eccleshall pub go to Poland with refugees' supplies

Carl Miller (left) said he had known Neale Chandler (right) for a number of years and put himself forward

Three men from a Staffordshire pub have arrived in Poland with a van full of supplies for Ukrainian refugees.

Neale Chandler, landlord at The Kings Arms in Eccleshall, said his wife and himself, both with experience of war, decided they "needed to do something".

Mr Chandler, Carl Miller and Danny Gratton have travelled about 1,300 miles to a border town.

The van includes nappies, toilet paper and clothing following an appeal on social media.

The landlord, a former soldier, said that nine days ago he and his wife, once a refugee herself, decided to do something.

He added: "We needed to help.

"We put a call to action out on social media on Sunday. By Monday we were turning people away. Our community's been amazing, so generous. They've funded all our fuel, our tolls, our hotel stays."

A van has been packed with supplies

He said there was "a van full of stuff" with not much food, but "loads of nappies", toilet paper, sanitary items and clothing.

"You name it we've got the lot in here".

Mr Gratton said: "After a long week at work, I popped into Neale's pub as a regular for a pint on Friday night and 72 hours later here I am on the Ukraine border.

"So it's been a bit of a whirlwind, [an] emotional journey. We're all a bit tired, but we all wanted to be here and actually see it for ourselves."

Danny Gratton said it had been "a bit of a whirlwind"

Mr Miller, who said he had known the landlord for a number of years, stated he put himself forward, after a call was put out for a co-driver.

He said he thought they had clocked 1,350 miles so far.

"[I was] only too happy to join. It's quite an honour and a privilege to be here helping.

"We're here. We made it. Nothing prepares us for what we've seen of course. It's awful."