A Cleckheaton councillor delivered a piece of West Yorkshire’s history and sheltered from missiles during a humanitarian aid mission to Ukraine.

As part of a convoy organised by British-Ukranian Aid and Caritas, Leader of Kirklees’ Lib Dem group, Coun John Lawson, headed over to Lviv with seven other volunteers to deliver vital supplies.

The councillor’s trip began on Tuesday, September 30, when he and his brother Sam, who had come over from Canada, set off south to pick up fire hoses donated by the London Fire Service.

After catching the ferry to Antwerp and making several pitstops in Europe, the group arrived in Lviv on Saturday where they would stay for two nights.

The eight volunteers spent two nights in Lviv. Photo: John Lawson

placeholder image — The eight volunteers spent two nights in Lviv. Photo: John Lawson

As well as between 30 and 40 fire hoses, the convoy delivered generators, medical supplies, walking frames, crutches, bedding and clothes, hand-knitted teddy bears, tools, two ambulances, two 4x4s, a pickup truck and a quadbike.

Coun Lawson said: “It was clear that the kit that we took was received well.”

He said the delivery of aid felt “urgent” and “very necessary”, saying: “It’s not just the aid that we took, it is the people, it is the solidarity and that the rest of the world has not forgotten.”

In the early hours of Sunday morning, October 5, Russia launched missile and drone attacks on Ukraine, primarily targeting the western region of Lviv. According to the BBC, five people lost their lives, including four members of one family.

Copies of Michael Drapan's book - 'Home from Home' - have been left in Ukraine. Photo: John Lawson

The volunteers went to a large shelter with around 200 local people, primarily women and children. When asked what the experience was like, Coun Lawson and his brother settled on the term “unnerving”.

Sam said: “It is hard to be terrified when you are sat in a room full of very strong people…it was unnerving and unsettling.”

Coun Lawson added of the Ukrainian people: “They are not afraid and living their lives is the way they fight the war…just the act of getting up in the morning and going to work is an act of defiance.”

Upon leaving the shelter, Coun Lawson likened the smell to “burnt plastic”, with vehicles covered in ash.

Coun Lawson (right) and Michael Drapan (left) at Huddersfield Town Hall in August. Photo: John Lawson

Despite the morning’s events, the rest of Sunday continued uninterrupted, and Coun Lawson headed to a literary festival being held in Lviv to deliver a book by author, Michael Drapan, who is a senior member of the Huddersfield Ukrainian Club.

Entitled “Home from Home”, the book is a 70-year history of the Huddersfield-Ukrainian community.

Copies of the book were to be put in local libraries and handed to supporters and activists engaged with civilian work.

Coun Lawson spoke of the significance of making this cultural link between those living in Ukraine and the Ukrainian diaspora in West Yorkshire, and demonstrating solidarity.