An Ottery medic who is delivering emergency supplies to the Ukrainian border has described the refugees as ‘lost souls’, but said the work being done to help them is ‘inspirational’.

Scott Cheadle returned from a five-day trip last Thursday, March 24, and set off on a second journey to the border with Poland on Wednesday, March 30.

He said the first trip, taking two ambulances packed with medical supplies and other essentials to the temporary refugee shelters in Poland, had been ‘an emotional rollercoaster’.

Sidmouth Herald: Scott Cheadle with his ambulanceScott Cheadle with his ambulance (Image: Scott Cheadle)

Scott, who runs Toadpit Medical Services, told the Herald: “We had an amazing response, we really did.

“We got to this refugee camp, a sort of holding area before they move them on, and the guy saw what was in our ambulance and said ‘this is exactly what we need – you are the first people here with specific medical supplies, and we just can’t thank you enough’.

Sidmouth Herald: Near Poland's border with Ukraine, where refugees are fleeing the Russian attacksNear Poland's border with Ukraine, where refugees are fleeing the Russian attacks (Image: Scott Cheadle)

“I’ve been in constant communication with him ever since, with him telling me what’s needed.”

Sidmouth Herald: Kyiv Regional Children's Hospital in BuchaKyiv Regional Children's Hospital in Bucha (Image: Scott Cheadle)

Scott described how, from his accommodation not far from the border, he could hear gunfire in Ukraine. There was smoke drifting in the air and a smell of burning.

He said: “Where we stayed in the hotel there’s an old school that’s being used as a refugee shelter for women and children. The classrooms are full of camp beds, there’s no personal privacy or personal space.

“The people all look very scared and dishevelled, they look lost. Lost souls, I would say.”

But he said they were also determined to return to their country once the danger from the Russian attacks is over.

“Yes - they want to go to England, or Germany or France - but the overwhelming thing they are saying is ‘afterwards we want to go home, we don’t want to be refugees in your country and stay and claim benefits or work or become citizens – we want to go home’.

He has thanked everyone who has donated items or money for his trips to Ukraine: “What we’ve done is amazing.”

He added that the areas receiving refugees are currently in desperate need of people with the skills to help them convert former warehouses into temporary shelters for the Ukrainians: painters and decorators, tradesmen, fork-lift truck drivers and warehouse workers. He said if anyone from the local area was willing to offer even a couple of weeks of their time, he could put them in touch with one of his contacts in Poland.

Scott's crowdfunding page for donations can be found here: