Aberdeen man to head to Polish-Ukrainian border to help refugees

An Aberdeen man says he plans to head to the Polish-Ukrainian border to help refugees fleeing the conflict.

Peter Reid, 27, says he was inspired to head to the border after watching reports of the war on TV.

"Obviously donating money's one thing but actually seeing the help that you can give to people face-to-face is a different kind of support. To see what's happening on the news daily just made me think I want to go out there and help on the frontline, and see what assistance I can bring to them."

Peter says he has gathered essential items such as sanitary towels and toothpaste to take with him to Poland, and that he'll use money donated to a crowd funder to buy "what's needed" when he arrives in Poland. 

As of March 11, Poland has taken almost 1.5million Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. Peter says he isn't overly worried about being so close to the conflict. 

"I think my family's more concerned about me being near the border than I am. I haven't really thought much into it, I haven't really had much time to think into it. I just thought 'book a flight, get some donations, get the products in a suitcase, get to the airport'. Like I said, I haven't really thought much into it and it's probably best that I don't.

"I'm looking forward to going. My family and friends didn't know about it until yesterday morning, so it was a bit of a shock for them."

At time of writing, Peter has raised £604 towards his £1000 goal. 

You can donate to Peter's crowd funder here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/peternicolreid