Three volunteers have crowdfunded more than £20,000 in 48 hours to buy and deliver ambulances and medical supplies to help people in Ukraine. 

David Pond, from Kingsand, Cornwall, together with fellow former Naval Officer Nick Butler, and Marcus Butler, who is married to a Ukrainian, are on the Polish border helping the thousands of women and kids cross the border from Ukraine.

But as the bombing moves ever closer they have turned their attention to supporting injured citizens with ambulances and medical equipment. Realising that to be able to buy ambulances, tourniquests and bandages, they needed urgent funds, they turned to Newquay-based Crowdfunder.co.uk, which helped them launch a crowdfunder overnight - and in 48 hours has raised more than £21,000.

David, a former HMS Raleigh Commodore, said: "We are all about bringing medical relief to the many innocent civilians who have been caught up in the tragedy of this conflict.

"We are already making an impact here and have been able to deliver medical supplies to meet the growing humanitarian need.

"The rapid response to our campaign has also enabled us to identity and purchase our first ambulance which has now been collected and is operating in Ukraine. But we urgently need more funds to buy more."

The team of volunteers are also supporting those displaced persons who wish to come to the UK by transporting them from the border to those agencies that can process their applications.

"We are enormously grateful to those who have immediately committed to this cause and are hoping our humanitarian work will encourage others to do so.

"The more money we raise the more relief we will be able to provide. So please do share news about our project with your network and contacts, and ask them to support us. It's making a real difference - but we need more."

Dawn Bebe, co-founder of Crowdfunder.co.uk, said: "We were delighted to help David and team make an immediate impact.

"Crowdfunder has raised over £1million for Ukraine and we encourage people who want to help get urgent funds to the right places to support crowdfunded charity and volunteer projects like this."

To pledge on the Crowdfunder project, Medical Aid for Ukraine, go to  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/medical-aid-for-ukraine