Jack Grimston

A WEST Hampstead resident is driving from NW6 to the front line in Ukraine to deliver vital supplies and 4×4 vehicles, encouraging anyone with cars that will be scrapped under the expansion of the Ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) to donate them to “help save lives and liberate the country”.

Former Sunday Times journalist and freelance writer Jack Grimston will be joining co-driver Adam Prideaux in a convoy of six vehicles.

Packed with non-lethal supplies requested by soldiers, the volunteers will drive for two days and 1,500 miles through Europe.

Trucking through Calais, Germany, and Poland, Lviv and Kyiv, they’ll hit their final destination on the third day in east Ukraine, 5km before the battlefront. After handing the materials and cars to the army, they’ll get the train to Krakow and fly home.

Mr Grimston, who has lived in West Hampstead for the past decade, said: “We won’t be going through any direct fighting zones, but the point is to hand the supplies direct to the people on the front line so you know it’s going where it’s needed.

“We’re not going to be risk-taking. They’ve not had any problems in the past. They choose the places very carefully in conjunction with the soldiers on the ground. No one wants to do anything foolish.”

The materials they might take include 100 pairs of sturdy boots, good quality sleeping bags, a quad bike, medical supplies, winter tyres and water purification tablets.

“This is basically filling the gap between the govern­ment and the brilliant work humanitarian causes are doing out there for children and refugees,” Mr Grimston said.

The 4x4s will be used for anything from “ferrying supplies, water and weapons to driving wounded soldiers away from the front line”.

He added: “I don’t want to cover up the fact that they are going to be used by the military which some people might feel uncomfortable about.

“With ULEZ coming in it’s a really big opportunity because all of the 4x4s will be coming off the street soon. I’d say to anyone in London who’s got a 4×4 who is thinking of scrapping it under the scrappage scheme: please consider it.

“If it’s a bit rusty it doesn’t matter and the alternative is the vehicles get put in a shredder, or do you want it to save lives?”

A teacher from his school days mentioned he was organising the trip. Mr Grimston said: “I’m glad to be doing it. I wish I did something practical earlier because it is a cause I believe in.”

He said he admired the 200-plus host families in Camden who had opened their doors to refugees since war began.

Mr Grimston intends to buy a Mitsubishi L200 4×4 pickup, which costs around £5,000. The drivers depart on September 18.

You can donate by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Jack-Grimston