A community ambulance team are preparing to deliver more aid for Ukraine after receiving a heartfelt thank you letter following their last mission.

We reported how John Gilmour and Sam Lane, who run Tameside’s Lifeline Ambulance, headed to the frontline earlier this year to deliver vital items to the Polish-Ukraine border.

Those donations were then taken on to where they were needed most - including a children’s hospital.

The pair described the entire experience as ‘humbling’ and revealed how they have now received a touching thank you letter from the hospital in appreciation of their efforts.

They are now planning to embark on another aid mission in the new year.  

John and Sam shared more about their incredible journey to the Polish border.

Despite continuously working in and around our local community, this was the first time they have provided services outside of the UK, completing a marathon 26-hour drive to Poland.

REMARKABLE MISSION: John and Sam deliver the donations to Poland

When asked what it was that spurred them on and inspired them to undertake the journey, John said: “I think everybody, across the nation and the world really wanted to help and do their bit, so we had to sit down and think what can we do. In collaboration with the team at the Ukrainian centre in Ashton we found out what was needed out there at the front.”

They launched an appeal for those specific items with their family and friends all getting involved. 

John recounted how they had received around three to four thousand pounds worth of toothpaste and dental brushes that were donated by local dentists. 

He described the outpouring of support they received as ‘phenomenal’ and ‘moving’.

Sam said they also took a number of weeks to properly plan their mission and the route they would take to Poland.

“We made sure we did it properly; I’ve never driven abroad, John’s never driven abroad, so we had to make sure we were doing everything correctly,” Sam said. 

“We took the Euro Tunnel to France and then we followed the route through France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and into Poland. 

“After leaving the UK, it’s all on the other side of the road which I found quite easy actually. It was a very good route and in total, from leaving Ashton, took 26 hours.”

After arriving at their destination close to the border, John and Sam met up with a Ukrainian family who had links to the children’s hospital and also a relative who was a mayor of Lviv. 

In the midst of the war, Lviv quickly became a hub for humanitarian relief as well as a place of refuge for those fleeing the worst of the fighting in the eastern areas. 

Upon arrival, John and Sam transferred all of the goods they had into the family’s vehicles who then carried it over the border to ensure it went to the places it was needed most.

Eventually, after arriving back home in Tameside, they were sent a photo of all the goods they had taken over displayed outside the children’s hospital in Lviv.

They have also received a wonderful thank you letter expressing the hospital’s gratitude and appreciation. 

The duo described the whole experience as really ‘humbling’ and said they now definitely plan to make another trip next year.

In the meantime, their services remain very much required at home here in Tameside and the surrounding areas.

Since buying their first ambulance on Ebay back in 2020, their services have expanded and they took delivery of a second ambulance only last week.

John, the founder of the Lifeline Ambulance, bought their first vehicle himself in 2020 to help out in the initial response to Covid-19, and to help people get to hospital appointments.

He said: “It’s been funded through donations by people who use the service.

“Ideally we want to try and do that for free but we’ve got to pay for insurance and the upkeep of the vehicle.”

John explained: “As well as dental or hospital appointments we also help people with social appointments.

“We have helped people go to christenings and even a wedding, otherwise they just couldn’t go, as well as helping to pick up people’s shopping or taking them for a day trip out.

“We’ll help anybody, as long as we can work within the confines of what we can do legally with the ambulance and their mobility,” added John, who started the service when people’s needs became apparent to him during the pandemic.

The service also provides life-saving training techniques at community events - like the recent Hyde Mela and Stalybridge Fire Station open day.

You can find out more about the group, the services they provide and how you can help the Community Interest Company on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LifeLineAUK/ 

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