Seventh trip to Ukraine after fundraising efforts hit £60,000

Last week, Gary Fear set off on his seventh trip to take aid to war-torn Ukraine.

Gary, from Gnosall, usually undertakes his trips to the country with friend, David Perry from Newport. But this time, on his seventh trip to the country, Gary is flying solo.

The pair began undertaking the mammoth journeys back in April 2022, where they delivered twelve shopping trollies full of food and supplies to displaced Ukrainians in Lviv, fully stocked a church feeding refugees and visited refuge centres around the city.

Throughout their subsequent visits, they faced shelling, air raid sirens and sub-zero temperatures to deliver food and even reunite families along the way.

During a visit in April 2023, the pair were joined by Dean Gatley, father of Jordan Gatley, a soldier from Sandbach in Cheshire who died fighting with the International Legion of the Ukrainian Army.

This time, they hoped to raise £9,000 for the trip - but generous donors saw that target smashed, and Gary has £12,000 to take the country. It brings their fundraising total to just over £63,000.

During their first six trips they have travelled 22,260 miles (10,511 miles flying, 11,436 driving and 313 miles by train) and bought and delivered over 15 tonnes - or £50,000 - of food.

Donations will continue to be used to buy food and aid equipment, including a second electrical generator that will help provide electricity to a village that has been without. £20 will see one person fed for a whole week.

The pair have vowed to continue supporting the devastated country "until the war ends".

To follow their journey and to donate, visit: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gfukraine.