Man drives to Ukraine Cornwall to deliver aid to refugees fleeing Russian invasion

• Watch: Darren Tait on his journey to Ukraine

A man from Cornwall has driven more than 1,000 miles to hand-deliver aid to refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Taxi driver Darren Tait left his home in Callington as part of a convoy of vans packed with donations.

Items were gathered from people across Devon and Cornwall following an appeal by Mr Tait’s taxi firm.

He has since arrived at the Polish-Ukrainian border, which thousands of people have attempted to cross since Russia’s invasion.

‘Action is what we need’

Documenting his journey on social media, Mr Tait urged the Government to “do more” to support those affected by the conflict.

“What we’ve done is a little bit but we need to do more,” he said.

“We need to be helping these people. We need to be opening our doors.

“We need to be opening our hearts, our borders and our houses and offering these safe places and refuge. 

“Words from our Government aren’t enough - action is what we need.”

A total of nine vans made the trip when they left Cornwall on March 6.

One of the vehicles has stopped in Warsaw to support refugees travelling to Germany, while another is headed directly to the frontlines to support those who need it most.

It will then be used to help Ukrainians get out of the country while the conflict continues.

Mr Tait urged people living in the South West to contact their MP about the war.

“What are we doing?” Mr Tait asked in one of his videos.

“I just don’t understand it – we’ve got the vehicles, we can bring some of these people back. Boris, please, open the borders.

“People, get in touch with your local MP and just tell them how you feel. Just say ‘this is wrong, open the borders, let the refugees in’.”