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A Huthwaite haulier met with a special guest who helped pack a lorry full of humanitarian aid items to send to Ukraine.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson joined Taylor’s Transport driver Martin Rehm in Enfield, North London, and helped load a lorry full of household supplies and medicine bound for the war-torn country.

Martin has now embarked on a 1,600 mile journey to deliver the load, which also contained beds and medical equipment leftover from the Nightingale Hospitals built during the pandemic.

Taylor’s Transport has pledged to help the aid efforts by providing regular lorries to be filled with essential items collected by various charities to help the areas in need of it the most.

Boris Johnson with one of Taylor’s drivers Martin Rehm.

Philomena Stevenson, customer account manager at the company, based on Export Drive, Huthwaite, said: “They are desperate out there, they really are. Boris wanted to highlight and raise awareness of the importance of continuing the aid.

“Ukraine is a massive country and there are some areas that are just going about their daily lives, but the places affected are really hard done to and they’ve just got nothing. No power either – they are desperate for generators at the moment.

“A lot of the goods on the trailer we sent will go to Lublin, on the Ukraine/Polish border. From there, they will be taken into Kherson.

“They’ve just won the place back, but they’ve got nothing there – the Russians have stripped the town of everything.”

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The latest load was filled with items collected by charity ICMDA and also contained donations from the Circle Health Group.

Philomena is urging any charities or businesses in the Mansfield area to contact the ICMDA if they can spare any valuable donations.

She said: “There was such an awareness made of it right at the beginning, but everyone has got their own hardships at the moment so this seems to have been put on the back burner. But they really do need more aid.

“The charities don’t need clothes or shoes or anything anymore, it’s mainly medical products, cleaning products and electric generators.”

Visit icmda.net for more information about its Ukraine appeal.

Boris Johnson helps Huthwaite haulier fill lorry with items for Ukraine