FOUR compassionate dads have returned to Thurrock this morning (Sunday, 13 March) after an extraordinary mercy mission that took them within a few miles of the Ukrainian border, close to the military training base at Yavoriv where at least 35 people were killed and 134 injured in an overnight missile attack.

Best friends John Green, Dean Hallissey, Mark McIlveney and Max Lazarou set out from Corringham last week with two jumbo vans packed with aid for refugees and Ukrainians who remain in the warn-torn country.

They returned today having ensured that more than £35,000 worth of donated items have been put to good use – though it turned out to be far from easy to achieve that aim in a region of Poland swamped with refuges where support services including the Red Cross are being overwhelmed by the size of the task they face.

More than a million people, mainly women, children and older people have fled the conflict that followed Russia's invasion of the Ukraine.

Disturbing scenes on social media and TV of the refugees' plight inspired insurance consultant John and his three friends to try and make a difference.

Not only have they achieved that – with a monumental effort helped by companies across the insurance industry and local firms – they are already considering what they might be able to do next. Having established contact with local people on the Polish border with links to the Ukraine the four are now aiming to take at least a container load of aid back to the area – knowing they now have the insight and routes to make sure it goes where it can do the most good.

When they set out last week the four had already made contact with the Red Cross and had agreed an arrival time at a distribution point near the city of Lublin in eastern Poland, but then they arrived on time they found the situation in the area has escalated to a point where even the Red Cross are overwhelmed.

Dean, 45, who works at the Navigator Terminal in West Thurrock. And whose home in Balmoral Avenue Corringham was the starting point for the mercy mission, explained to Nub News today that the scale of the crisis is almost unimaginable – and the situation on the border is fluid and ever-changing.

He said: "We had made arrangements with the Red Cross to arrive at a depot and we managed to get there on time as arranged after driving across northern Europe.

"The amount of aid we had packed into the vans thanks to the generosity of so many people was amazing – much of it was brand new and we had expected that it would be unloaded and distributed by a network already in place.

"However, when we got to the Red Cross site, it was clear they were overwhelmed and struggling with the manpower required to cope with the amount of aid that is flowing in. And also to sort and distribute it.

"It quickly became clear that while we were welcomed with open arms all we would be doing at Lublin was adding to a mountain of aid waiting to be distributed.

"We wanted to make sure it got where it was needed. Thankfully, through contacts we were able to make and with the help of a guy from Essex, who we saw in a blog on social media had already been to area, we learned of a women and children's refuge, closer to the border about a couple of hours' drive away.

"We left some goods at Lublin and then decided to make our way to the centre. It was a case of taking each minute of every hour as it came, keeping in touch with contacts and tracking our way by sat nav but eventually we reached the destination which was not that far from the border.

"Again, there was a degree of confusion there and not everything we had on board was suitable but we were able to unload lots of nappies, food stuffs, clothes and other items that were really in demand. And we knew that the people there would ensure that the aid was put to best use quickly.

"But we still had a lot of stuff including thermal adult clothing, gloves, torches, drinking flasks and the like which we knew would be needed in the Ukraine itself where the fighting and devastation is.

"Thankfully, Max was able to get in touch with his wife Olga, who is from the Ukraine and through her contacts she put us in touch with a local Mayor and then in turn a local businessman who was organising a relief effort to take things into the Ukraine.

"We can't really go into too much detail about where we went because we want to protect the security of the people who are doing such a fantastic job in incredible circumstances and who are undoubtedly doing it at some risk to themselves.

"We were advised to drive for another couple of hours, getting ever nearer to the border, before arriving at our destination.

"It would be fair to say that there was a deal of suspicion about us and what we were carrying and why we had driven from London, but after going through some security checks and being able to identify who we were and why we were there, we eventually got to the distribution point.

"The people there were very grateful for the help and amazed with the quality of what we were able to deliver – thanks, of course, to the incredible generosity of some many people and businesses back in the UK.

"We had not wanted to let them down and we were pleased to be able to get the goods to a place where they would be best used. We were told that many of the items we had would be transported that night into Ukraine itself by a network of people driving trucks, tractors and other vehicles to get the items to where they were most needed.

"There was a fire station close to where we were and crews from there came over to help us unload and we were able to build up a trust with them and the other people within the network.

"They were so grateful and now we know how and where to go to do the most good, we asked what they most needed and if we could return. We were assured we would be welcomed and so we are now looking at upsizing what we have already done.

"We have already been pledged support from a local Thurrock haulage company with transport. So, we are looking now to set up a collection operation in the borough.

"We will need a base to collect and store and pack, and to co-ordinate the operation but we are confident that we will be able to make this happen within three or four weeks and then we can take more help out there where it is clearly so badly needed.

"It was an absolutely amazing experience. The four of us are just ordinary blokes, dads and family men who were inspired by John in the first place because of his 'can do attitude' and then by the kindness and support of so many people.

"Not wanting to let them down drove us on after the initial disappointment of finding things weren't quite what we were expecting when we arrived at our initial destination but there is a sense of achievement now that we are back, but also an even bigger sense that there is so much more still to do and we are going to be working to make a difference from here in Thurrock and beyond through all the connections we have made with companies and individuals.

"There is no doubt that there is going to be a need in the Ukraine and in the countries that border it for a long time.

"We are proud to have done a little bit but there is so much more to do."

If anyone can help the intrepid and caring dads on the next stage of their mission, Dean can be contacted by email on [email protected].