A group of volunteers from a West Devon village have returned from an eventful aid mission.

Milton Combe-based Nightingales UK delivered its fourteenth 4x4 vehicle filled with life-saving medical aid into Ukraine, despite bureaucratic red tape and technical hitches.

The three-day 1,500-mile trip to Uzhhorood was to hand over the vehicle to paramedics helping serious casualties on the front line of Ukraine’s war against the Russian invaders.

The all-terrain cars are needed to reach under-fire areas inaccessible to normal ambulances.

The trip was beset by delays caused by a fuel problem in the 4x4, Eurotunnel train delays, a German police on-the-spot fine for not displaying a UK sticker and a five-hour delay at the Hungary/Ukraine border involving a 40 Euro fine and vehicle inspection by border officers.

Anton Horwich and Nick Benny, UK Nightingales volunteers, drove a Chinese built pick-up or ‘Chinese Steed’ (a mishmash of parts from various other pick-ups, Isuzu, Nissan etc) to Ukraine full of donated aid. The aid included critically important life-saving tourniquets, blast bandages, Celox and burns dressings for the front line.

Anton said: “After a further £700 of expenditure and some additional sterling work by Nick, the ‘Steed’ was ready to roll.

“We do everything we can to provide the Ukrainians with a reliable vehicle, as for them it could be a matter of life or death.”

The trip nearly did not happen at all after their insurance company cancelled vehicle cover. After negotiations, cover was agreed, although only for seven days.

They were delayed by three hours amid booking chaos at the Eurotunnel. After driving through France, Belgium and Holland, they stopped overnight in Germany.

On their way to Prague, they were stopped by police at a service station in Germany and fined 15 Euros for a ‘petty’ UK sticker infringement.

They reached Prague to be met by friends Kamila and Nick Kirke, who run the Ukrainian charity, Lev Hearts.

They then drove 500 miles through Czechia, parts of Slovakia and Hungary.

“We hoped for an easy transit through Hungarian and Ukrainian customs. But Hungarian officials, who have been awkward in the past, excelled themselves in being unhelpful, by directing us to the freight section, amongst all the big lorries.”

Anton used his German and found an official who demanded a 40 Euro payment. Then an official insisted they take a ‘nerve-racking drive onto an inspection ramp built for wider lorries with little room for error. But, after five hours of frustration, they crossed into Ukraine.

The following day they explored Uzhhorod city. Anton said: “It was outwardly calm and ‘normal’, whereas a few hundred miles away, similarly beautiful cities and towns were being blown to smithereens and citizens killed or injured.

“It’s sobering to see young lads playing football and teenage girls posing for their social media pages and wondering what their future holds. It’s upsetting to see the increasing number of memorials to the fallen.”

The vehicle handover was met with ‘humbling’ gifts from two Ukrainian recipients to Nick and Anton. The pick-up was then driven to battle-torn Dnipro by the Ukrainians.