THE Bridport community is rallying round and making a huge effort to support the people of Ukraine - with the latest gesture seeing a local businessman drive a truckload of supplies 1,300 miles to support refugees who have fled the country following the Russian invasion.
Gary Copp, owner of West Bay restaurant Catch of the Day, aims to set off for the Poland-Ukraine border on Monday, March 14. He will share the driving Rory Brown of Cains Farm Transport of Chideock which is supplying the vehicle.
For the last week an army of volunteers has been collecting donations to fill the articulated lorry.
Mr Copp said he felt he ‘had to do something’ after being struck by what he had seen in the news and speaking with a friend who had recently made the same trip.
Mr Copp said: “I have just had a friend come back who said it was horrendous. Seeing that women and children are being slaughtered made me want to do something and I know this is just a drop in the ocean.
“We have an artic lorry which we are taking with a load of supplies to Ukraine on Monday."
Originally Mr Copp had hoped to travel with his Mr Brown today (Thursday), which is his 58th birthday, but the trip has been delayed as they await paperwork to be completed with the relevant authorities which will allow them to travel across Europe.
They are facing a 25-hour journey to the Poland-Ukraine border where they will drop-off supplies with the Red Cross.
Mr Copp said: “We want to see if we could fill the truck up to the top with donations from residents. We have been appealing for sleeping bags, tinned food, working tents, warm clothes, baby clothes, washing stuff, nappies, and anything else that can keep them alive.
“We have a collection point at the back of Bridport Police Station. A group of people came together from the young to the old to help sort it and have been doing a marvellous job.
“We hope to get as much as we can in the truck so that even a sparrow cannot nest there.”
He added: “It’s going to cost around £3,000 in fuel and we have had lots of donations to help - we have had everything from a tin of sweets to large financial donations. Lots have businesses have donated money and we expect to be full.”
People can drop off items at Catch of the Day or Cains Farm. For further information visit the Catch of the Day Facebook page.
Other acts of kindness locally include:
* Local man Laurence Boon rode from Bridport to Bristol and back and raised more than £2,000 for Unicef UK
* This Sunday (March 13) Baboo Gelato is giving all proceeds from sales at its outlets in West Bay, Lyme Regis, Weymouth, and Swanage to the Disaster Emergency Committee
* Bridport Youth FC players have donated £1,074. They gave £300 to locals who have taken supplies to Ukraine with the remaining funds sent to Ukraine via the Bridport Rotary Club
* Brassica Restaurant, Beaminster will donate £10 to World Central Kitchen for every dish sold of its organic chicken Kyiv with mash and pickled cabbage
* Local Rotary Clubs have raised more than £4,0000 from street collections which they are sending to clubs abroad
To ‘let the world know the people of Bridport are looking on in horror at what Russia is doing’ and to send a message of support to the people of Ukraine, Bridport's Town Hall clock has been lit in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, and the flag is being flown.
Picture below by Tracey Howard
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