Scottish convoy sets out to deliver fire engines to Ukraine

A former firefighter is leading a convoy of four fire engines and equipment as they embark on a journey to give them to crews in Ukraine.

Gary Bennett said firefighters in Ukraine were coming under attack from Russian forces as they attempted to tackle blazes in the war-torn country.

The convoy was organised by the charity Scottish Emergency Rescue Association.

It began a longstanding relationship with the Ukrainian fire service in 2019.

The fire engines have been donated by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

They will be accompanied by a truckload of equipment, including 80 surplus flak jackets which the SFRS purchased after the Manchester Arena bombings to allow firefighters to be deployed to a terrorist incident.

Mr Bennett told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme the operation, which usually takes about "three months to plan", took "10 days" for the charity to organise.

The charity has a team of 13 drivers, made up of retired and currents firefighters, who will drive non-stop from Edinburgh to the Polish-Ukraine border to hand the equipment over to firefighters.

They hope to be at the border by Sunday night.

The charity said its long-standing ties with Ukrainian fire groups would help them circumvent the delays that are creating backlogs of rescue equipment at the border.

Mr Bennett said: "It was easy for us, we're talking about friends rather than one organisation speaking to another organisation.

"It's people we've shared a table with, a meal with, met their kids, so it's a bit more personal.

"The operational folk are literally dodging bullets as they are driving along in their fire engine responding."

Mr Bennett said: "We've also included generators and water pumps, with the thought that if the village doesn't have power or water, it can pump from a well, it can produce electricity to charge mobile phones so people can communicate.

"We've also given surplus so they can distribute that as they see fit in the area they are operational in."

Initially, the Scottish volunteers planned to deliver the resources to Ukraine through the Polish fire service at an existing corridor.

However, the destroyed infrastructure around Ukraine forced them to find an alternative route which is longer and more difficult to organise because it has not been well used.

They now plan to drive to an undisclosed location at the border to hand over the engines and equipment to the Ukrainian fire service.