Weston garden centre supports Ukraine fundraising

Bags full of donations have been collected at Baytree Garden Centre in Weston in recent days.

Staff at the garden centre have also been astonished with the level of support since they began their collection on Tuesday.

The team were inspired to act as a collection point after Elke Biehler had spoken to Anna Davies on Tuesday morning.

Within a few hours they had filled trailer with bags of clothing, nappies, toiletries and other vital equipment. Nearby Weston church has also been filled with donations.

Nigel Wallis said: “The amount of people who have made donations is incredible.

“It is fantastic to see the response. We are all really concerned about what is going on there.”

The brutal reality of war was also brought home to Mr Wallis when he had to say goodbye to supplier Andrew Muryn-Antonyshyn, who has returned to the Ukraine to fight off the invasion.

Mr Wallis said: “He looked really upset and said thank you for starting the collection point.

“Then he said he might be on a one-way journey as his business had gone and his family were there.

“He is going to fight and said he might not be seeing me again.

“It was gobsmacking.”

Mr Muryn-Antonyshyn spoke to ITV Anglia on Tuesday about his decision to return to the Ukraine to fight.

The trailer load of donations collected by the Baytree team is now making its way to Poland in order to make a difference to the refugees.