A TRIO of members of a North Wales charity travelled to Poland for the second time in less than a month to drop off much-needed supplies to be then sent to help those in Ukraine.

Matt Ryan, Bob James and Brian Jones, from British International Rescue and Search Dogs (“B.I.R.D.”), which has helped locate missing people and help those in critical need around the world for more than 30 years, made the journey.

They set off from their Llanfairfechan base at 11pm on Wednesday, March 30, caught the ferry from Harwich to the Netherlands the next day, before arriving in the Polish city of Lublin at roughly 10am on Friday.

With a van full of medical supplies, toiletries and more with them, approximately 60 boxes of donations were left at the “Help Ukraine.center” in Lublin.

This follows the team’s journey to Warsaw last month, to make similarly sizeable donations to the Polish Red Cross, who then oversaw its delivery to Ukraine.

The team arrived home at 4am on Sunday morning, after some 76 hours of travelling.

An online fundraiser page set up (donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/medical-supplies-for-ukraine) has also raised £760 so far.

Matt, whose roles in the charity include trainee dog handler, drone operator, and digital support provider, said it was another worthwhile, eye-opening experience.

He said: “In addition to medical supplies, this time, we took toiletries, sanitary items and some food, as well, because they were in great demand over there.

“Instead of the Polish Red Cross in Warsaw, we went a couple of hours further towards the border, to Lublin. They have a massive warehouse where they’re getting lots of deliveries, coming in and out every day.

“They were really, really happy. We saw that lots of big vehicles and lorries were dropping off, but they were equally as happy to see our small van from North Wales.

“They were really interested in our story, to be able to get to Poland for a second time. They were really grateful to have us provide them with some stuff.

“We managed to fit a few more boxes in the van this time - every square inch was filled; we took about 60 boxes!”

Matt has said the charity will continue to help Ukraine as best they can, and was taken by the togetherness he felt while in Poland for the second time in less than a month.

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He added: “They’re unwavering in their attitude towards this conflict. As time has passed, they’re getting more resolute in their strength towards their own cause.

“There’s an atmosphere of defiance there that isn’t going away, and is getting stronger. It’s quite inspiring to see.

“While the war is going on, we will keep helping. It’s going to have to be slightly different next time, because I think we’ve asked all we can of our lovely local community; we can’t keep asking them for donations.

“We now have a list of things that are needed most by the centre in Lublin, like specific types of radios – not necessarily things you might have lying around.

“What we might do is ask for financial donations next time, and we’ll then buy these things that they desperately need but that not many people are bringing to them.

“I think they’ll also need things like sleeping bags and blankets, so we’ll be collecting those from the community, if they’re willing to help us again.

“We’ll try and bridge that gap for them, for as many trips as it takes.”