Huge lorry sets off from Hull full of aid for Ukraine
The biggest lorry yet to leave Hull packed with donated aid for Ukraine has set off on its journey. The 24-tonne truck supplied via Yorkshire haulage firm Brian Yeardley Continental Ltd and sponsored by Hull-based Eco Engineering Installations Ltd left Sutton Fields industrial estate this afternoon. It is carrying aid donated by the public over the last week at drop-off centres in Linnaeus Street and St Andrews Quay.
For the latest Ukraine news click here. Romanian driver Gabriel Burca said he expected to arrive in the Romanian town of Siret close to the Ukrainian border later this week or early next week. Pastor Paul Vancea, of Hull’s Romanian Church, waved him off.
He said: “The people of Hull have been so generous and this is the result.
Paul Vancea, Hoe Pop and Gabriel Burca with the lorry packed with aid destined for Ukrainian refugees (Image: Hull Live)
“The church has been very involved in the drop-off centre at Linnaeus Street because we are normally based in the space being used for the donations. “None of us have had much sleep for the last two weeks, perhaps it’s starting to show!” Pastor Vancea also shared images taken in Siret after the first delivery of donated aid from Hull earlier this week.
They show a snow-covered depot and a warehouse full of boxes of supplies.
How to donate cash to help those in Ukraine
A new charity Hull 4 Ukraine is organising the relief effort from the city for Ukrainian refugees and victims of the war. They are being supported by the established Hull 4 Heroes charity which has set up a crowdfunding page. The Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella group for 15 of the UK’s leading aid charities, is running an appeal which the UK government has pledged to match with extra funding up to a total of GBP20m.
This can be viewed here. The British Red Cross and Save The Children are both running separate appeals. UK defence secretary Ben Wallace said direct cash donations can also be made to the Ukrainian Embassy.
The Unicef appeal for Ukraine can be accessed here, while the UN’s Ukraine Humanitarian Fund can be donated to via here. The drop-off centre in Linnaeus Street will remain open for donations between 11am and 1pm until tomorrow. After that, it is moving to a new venue at the former Staples store on the Myton Retail Park in the city centre which will open on Monday.
The refugee centre in Siret in Romania where aid from Hull was delivered earlier this week (Image: Hull Live)
It will be open for donations on weekdays between 10am and 3pm.
Volunteer Alan Hardy said: “It will give us much more space and allow us to give this space back to the church.”
To sign up for the Hull Live newsletter,click here.