Exmouth: Locals fill vans with donations for refugees in Teignmouth; Topsham Rugby Club player to drive to Ukraine-Poland border with dad

Locals flocked to the Point Car Park in Teignmouth today (Thursday 3 March) to donate anything they could to people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It comes after it was announced that John Saunders of coffee machine supplier and servicer Coffeeworks would drive to the Polish border with Ukraine with his son Jack to deliver donations to refugees.

Jack plays for Topsham Rugby Club, and there is reportedly still 'a whole changing room' of donations there to collect.

So many people turned up in Teignmouth to donate that Coffeeworks' two vans were filled within the first half hour. Several other vans, belonging to members of the public, then came to take the surplus to the company's warehouse in Marsh Barton - which was already full even before today.

Co-owner of Coffeeworks Kathy Saunders said: "We've been overwhelmed. It's been amazing. 

"We'll find space, we'll put it up on the racking [inside the warehouse] if we need to, for now.

"One [van] went yesterday. Red Rock Electrical Ltd [based in Dawlish Warren] contacted us because they decided they would do something similar. They only had two vans going, so then we asked if they could find another van, which they did do, and they sent it to us yesterday and we filled it up and they've all gone this morning. 

"What we can't take, we will direct to other charities."

James Smith of Empire Removals, who helped with the surplus donations, said: "We were just bringing a donation down from Newton Abbot, and we've got a half-empty van so we just thought we'd take a bit more away [of the surplus donations to the Coffeeworks warehouse]. Saves them doing ten trips in the car with a boot."

One man who came to leave a donation was Dan Hallett, 42, who worked and lived in Ukraine with his family from 2014-2019.

He said: "I know people who are currently living in a metro station in Kyiv. I know people that are in Odessa being bombed every day. Last night I spoke to a friend whose 82-year-old grandmother is in Kharkiv and can't escape.

"It's brilliant to see the community ... pulling together to show that regardless of your passport, regardless of your nationality, regardless of your state, we're all people and we care about people and we just want to see peace and resolution ... and there's one person that can make that decision, and that's Vladimir Putin."

John and Jack Saunders will leave on Sunday morning (6 March) and take the donations to the Red Cross in Poland.

If you would like to help, you can donate on their JustGiving page here - which has already racked up more than £6,000 at the time of writing.

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