Ukraine: Fire engine convoy leaves UK with vital supplies for firefighters

The convoy is carrying equipment decommissioned in the UK life but still fully functional

PA Media The fire trucks leaving — The convoy is carrying equipment decommissioned in the UK life but still fully functional

A convoy of donated fire engines and thousands of pieces of equipment has set off on a three-day journey bound for Ukraine.

Volunteers are taking the 22 vehicles, including fire engines and lorries full of kit, which have been offered by fire services from across the UK.

Charity Fire Aid and the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) sent an initial delivery to the country on 11 March.

The second convoy left Ashford in Kent earlier.

Its leader, Mike Pitney, described the trip as "personal" and told BBC Breakfast: "I've been going out to Ukraine for 10 years, so I have friends and family, as far as I'm concerned, out there."

Kent Fire and Rescue Service tweeted footage of the trucks leaving Ashford and said firefighters across the country had come together as part of a humanitarian effort.

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Claire Hoyland, project manager for Fire Aid, said its members immediately mobilised in the aftermath of the Russian invasion.

She said the equipment being taken to Ukraine had reached the end of its life in the UK but was still "perfectly usable".

The convoy headed to Dover from Ashford on Saturday morning

PA Media The convoy heading to Dover — The convoy headed to Dover from Ashford on Saturday morning

Mark Hardingham, chairman of the NFCC, said the volunteers would drive into Poland where the equipment and engines would be made available to cross the border.

"The footage I've been watching on television has been horrific. I've seen firefighters dealing with the most terrible set of circumstances in Ukraine, often with equipment that is outdated or damaged by the conflict," he said.

"So the stuff that we send is going to be vital for them to support their local communities and to keep those firefighters in Ukraine safe as well."

Fire minister Lord Stephen Greenhalgh tweeted that it was the "largest ever single donation of fire and rescue equipment".

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Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "We are helping to ensure that crucial fire and rescue equipment and PPE donated by fire and rescue services will get to where it can directly provide succour to those brave firefighters, emergency services and volunteers on the front line in Ukraine."