‘We felt so sorry for the people’: West Cork truckers tell of Ukrainian refugees sleeping in tents

Four Cork drivers have travelled across the continent to  the Polish-Ukraine border with a lorry, van, and transporter full of goods, collected by West Cork Appeal volunteers to assist families fleeing war in their homeland.

Drivers Kevin, Paul, Páidí Twomey, and Tomás Hughes with forklift driver Declan McNamara.

“We felt so sorry for the people. As soon as we stepped out of the truck the cold hit us. It went straight through your bones it was so cold — and these people were sleeping in tents,” said Tomás Hughes, part of a team of Co Cork drivers returning after delivering supplies to the Poland-Ukraine border.

Taking a lorry, van, and transporter full of goods collected by West Cork Appeal volunteers, the men drove through France and across Europe, arriving first in Przemysl near the Ukrainian border before heading north to Cieszanów.