By Andy Hirst

Their faces say it all … essential aid is getting through to children in Ukraine who need it most.

Around 500 teddies were sent to children in the war-torn country during a mercy mission by one of the oldest car dealerships in Huddersfield.

And the photos show they have reached children trapped in Ukraine following the brutal Russian invasion.

The teddies were among supplies sent by the St Andrews Motor Company on Leeds Road, Huddersfield, and each teddy had a note handwritten in Ukrainian and English.

The company is owned by Tim Marsden who drove a van out to Ukraine recently and hooked up with Danish aid workers who are risking their lives travelling into Ukraine to deliver medical supplies, food and other essentials.

The notes were written by Tim’s friend Peter Simpson, his teenage daughter, Ellie and Huddersfield car dealer Joan West.

Tim, 62, of Holmfirth, said: “Among all the several tons of fabulous donations that our friends, family and colleagues gave us to take to Ukraine we also took some teddy bears for the kids in the orphanages, hospitals and the other unfortunate children who, for whatever reason, cannot make the trip to safety in Poland and beyond.

“They’ve got basically nothing now due to the war and we thought on Easter Sunday everyone needs a bit love. These are some of the photos that have been sent to us by our Ukrainian friends who hand delivered these teddies with the aid you all provided.”

The car dealership is still collecting donations to send to Ukraine and needs medical supplies such as tourniquets and dressings, incontinence pads, nappies, women’s sanitary towels and ready-to-drink baby milk.

Once they have enough to fill two vans they will make another 3,000-mile round trip to Ukraine.

Tim has set up a GoFundMe page to raise £5,000 for an ambulance for the Danish aid workers to use. At the moment they are daubing a cross on civilian cars to get the aid through Ukraine which is highly dangerous as it makes them a target for the Russians. They would be far safer driving an ambulance-style vehicle which is why Tim wants to provide one for them.

To donate, click on this link https://www.gofundme.com/f/Huddersfield-Ukraine

* Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging and copywriting. Copyright Andy Hirst.