Ukraine war: Tonnes of cuddly toys and clothes donated by Portsmouth will be handed over to Ukrainian orphans this week after a plea by two Royal Navy veterans

Hundreds of people answered the call by Royal Navy veterans Steve Holland, 55, and Terry Buckel, 50, for emergency aid for Ukrainian refugees.

In the space of just four days, a huge amount of supplies – the vast majority all for children - were handed over.

Impressively, residents donated more than the pair’s rented 7.5-tonne van could handle, with the surplus now being sent to another charity supporting the Ukrainian crisis.

Tonight, Steve and Terry will be setting off for the Channel Tunnel before making the 1,060-mile road trip to the Polish city of Stalowa Wola, about 60 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Here, the aid will be distributed across six emergency sites accommodating hundreds of orphaned Ukrainian tots.

Terry, who is the founder of Astute Technical Recruitment Ltd in North Harbour, said: ‘It’s been nuts. It’s been phenomenal.

‘Steve and I alone were overwhelmed by the number of donations over the weekend. We ended up with a good army of people – 15 or so – that really helped get everything sorted, boxed and stacked.

‘This is going straight into the hands of children and refugees. Things like toys and pushchairs - things that will make a difference and brighten up their experience.’

SEE ALSO: Emsworth group reaches Ukraine’s border

All the donations were delivered to Steve’s make-shift aid hub on the site of his business, Online Cleaning at the Mountbatten Business Park in Drayton

Retired Warrant Officer Steve said he was blown away by the kindness of people and said the trip to Poland would be an ‘emotional one’.

The father-of-four said: ‘I really didn’t comprehend the generosity of people. It was emotionally overwhelming.

‘On Friday when this first happened I was welling up.I couldn’t believe it. We dropped the shutters down at 2.30pm on Sunday. We were just overwhelmed. We just couldn’t believe it.’

Joining the pair on the trip is one of Steve’s employees Michal Bednarczyk, of Havant, whose sister lives in Stalowa Wola.

He said: ‘Children have been evacuated from orphanages in Ukraine. They’re not injured by war but they are very scared because they have experienced bombardments. Some of them are disabled and they need special care.’

Steve added: ‘Emotionally, it’s going to be tough but it will be nothing compared to what these children have gone through.’

The pair hope to return to Portsmouth by Saturday. They have also set up a fundraising page for cash to support Ukrainian orphans, which has so far raised more than £5,000.

The money is expected to go to a local authority in Poland running six emergency refugee sites in Stalowa Wola.

To support it, see: gofundme.com/f/humanitarian-aid-mission-to-poland

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