A lorry carrying 13 tonnes of vital supplies for Ukrainian refugees was due to leave Swindon later this afternoon.
Young aid collector Marshall Murapa samples the view from the lorry's cab
The cargo included a Teddy Bear and a handwritten card from seven-year-old local boy Marshall Murapa.
Marshall rallied friends and family to donate after hearing about the plight of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.
The aid mission was organised by two Swindon businessmen Don Bryden, who runs KCJ Training and Employment Solutions and youth charity BEST, and who joined forces with another Swindon businessman, Lee Hallett of logistics firm OPX Group.
Mr Bryden said he started work on the mission after hearing from a Swindon Borough Councillor, Bazil Solomon, that the Polish community needed help getting goods from their collection to where it was needed.
"We of course said, 'yes,' little knowing the logistics of it," said Mr Bryden.
"I tried all over the place and eventually phoned Lee Hallett of OPX Group. He said exactly same as me, 'Yeah, of course we'll do it.'
"He then put me on to his number two, Ryan Gower."
Complications included having to modify the lorry in accordance with EU regulations to individually marking items to conform with export rules.
Mr Gower personally attached thousands of bar codes.
The team were moved by the efforts of Marshall Murapa, who was invited to watch the lorry being loaded alongside mum Amie and dad Bruce.
Marshall said of the refugees: "I saw it on the internet and felt really bad for them - they didn't do anything wrong."
The journey is expected to take three days.
Mr Bryden said: "The tractor and trailer will be driven by two employees of OPX. We'll get to Calais and then from Calais straight through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. From the Netherlands we'll cut through to Germany.
"With a bit of luck we'll make it straight through to Hanover. At Hanover we'll have to take a break because the drivers need to take a nine-hour rest over there. From Hanover we'll go through the Polish border and down to Warsaw and through to Lublin, where BEST has been given a contact for a charity called Caritas.
"Once we're there, we'll officially hand over the goods to Caritas. Then the tractor unit and trailer will come back while my son, Christopher, and myself will be staying there and trying to help out for three or four days."
Marshall rallied friends and family to donate after hearing about the plight of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.
The aid mission was organised by two Swindon businessmen Don Bryden, who runs KCJ Training and Employment Solutions and youth charity BEST, and who joined forces with another Swindon businessman, Lee Hallett of logistics firm OPX Group.
Mr Bryden said he started work on the mission after hearing from a Swindon Borough Councillor, Bazil Solomon, that the Polish community needed help getting goods from their collection to where it was needed.
"We of course said, 'yes,' little knowing the logistics of it," said Mr Bryden.
"I tried all over the place and eventually phoned Lee Hallett of OPX Group. He said exactly same as me, 'Yeah, of course we'll do it.'
"He then put me on to his number two, Ryan Gower."
Complications included having to modify the lorry in accordance with EU regulations to individually marking items to conform with export rules.
Mr Gower personally attached thousands of bar codes.
The team were moved by the efforts of Marshall Murapa, who was invited to watch the lorry being loaded alongside mum Amie and dad Bruce.
Marshall said of the refugees: "I saw it on the internet and felt really bad for them - they didn't do anything wrong."
The journey is expected to take three days.
Mr Bryden said: "The tractor and trailer will be driven by two employees of OPX. We'll get to Calais and then from Calais straight through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. From the Netherlands we'll cut through to Germany.
"With a bit of luck we'll make it straight through to Hanover. At Hanover we'll have to take a break because the drivers need to take a nine-hour rest over there. From Hanover we'll go through the Polish border and down to Warsaw and through to Lublin, where BEST has been given a contact for a charity called Caritas.
"Once we're there, we'll officially hand over the goods to Caritas. Then the tractor unit and trailer will come back while my son, Christopher, and myself will be staying there and trying to help out for three or four days."
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