West Norfolk businessman Peter Mortin driving 4,000 miles to deliver fire engine to war-torn Ukraine
A businessman will be making his eighth trip to Ukraine next month in a bid to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid and medical equipment.
Peter Mortin, from St Mary Magdalen, will be driving nearly 4,000 miles to deliver a fire engine from Norfolk to the east of the war-torn country, as well as equipment and aid to hospitals and charities along the route.
Mr Mortin, a business development manager for Narford-based company Crane Garden Buildings, has visited Ukraine seven times over the past three years, driving 20-tonne trucks full of donations as part of a humanitarian aid convoy.
This trip will be a little different, as he will be driving a fully equipped fire engine that has been donated by the Port of Mostyn in north Wales.
He will be driving it all the way there, saying it is “badly needed” to help deal with Russian missile and drone attacks.
Mr Mortin will be departing from Norfolk accompanied by another vehicle from the charity Ukraine Relief, which will also be packed with humanitarian aid.
This will include a complete set of 60 intensive care monitoring systems, which are used to track patients’ vital signs and bodily functions in intensive care units.
This equipment has been donated from a group of NHS hospitals in London, co-ordinated by Dr Christopher Bowles, who is an artificial heart specialist working at the Harefield Hospital.
Mr Mortin was introduced to Dr Bowles by Rosemary Pope OBE after arranging the donation of a large, insulated garden workshop made by Crane Garden Buildings to the Harefield Healing Garden in 2023.
“We realised that we were both passionate about wanting to do something for the people suffering in Ukraine, and that together we had the contacts and the expertise to achieve this,” Mr Mortin said.
Previous donations from the London hospitals have included surgical equipment, oxygen concentrators and mobile operating tables, but delivering the ICU monitoring systems will be their biggest joint project yet.
As well as taking the fire engine all the way to the east of Ukraine, Mr Mortin will also be delivering the medical equipment to regional hospitals along the route, including the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, which was badly damaged by a Russian missile attack in July 2024 - shortly after his previous visit there.
He has set up a JustGiving page to help raise funds towards the cost of this trip. People can visit this link to make a donation.
Ukraine Relief is always looking for donations of supplies and equipment that is badly needed in Ukraine.
This can include long shelf-life food, pet food, batteries and power banks, sleeping bags and hygiene products, as well as more specialist items such as mobility aids and in-date first aid and medical supplies.
If you can help with any of this, you can contact PMr Mortin directly at bracky1@me.com or visit www.ukrainerelief.org.uk to donate to the charity directly.