Banbury man spends 21st birthday driving Ukrainian refugees to safety for reunion with friends and family

A Banbury man spent his 21st birthday driving Ukrainian refugees to safety hundreds of miles from their home for a reunion with friends and family in Vienna.

Fynn Watt, who is from Deddington, left home on Thursday March 10 and drove a white transit van filled with donated supplies to Poland arriving around 2am Saturday morning March 12.

Fynn has shared the driving duties with Jono Mullard, who is from Barford St Michael near Banbury. After they arrived at the Przemyśl Ukrainian Refugee Camp in Poland they unloaded and dropped off all the donated supplies from the Banbury area.

Just a few hours after arriving at the refugee camp he met Kristina and her two daughters. Their father stayed behind in Donetsk to fight, but they were brought out by the military last week.

Fynn and Jono took turns driving Kristina, her two daughters, and another woman to Vienna to meet up with friends and family.

On the way they stopped and shared a celebratory meal at a McDonald's restaurant.

Fynn said: "It was my birthday so I treated them to some Happy Meals."

"Ballistic missiles made her leave her home town but she also had to leave her husband. Praying for his safe return to them and for the family to be reunited. Maria is a little angel, when she’s not sleeping she’s laughing and smiling no matter what."

Fynn launched a JustGiving fundraising web page to help support people at the Przemyśl Ukrainian Refugee Camp in Poland. The JustGiving fundraising page helps cover the costs of the journey, and pay for supplies for the refugees.

The campaign to support the Przemyśl Ukrainian Refugee Camp has now raised £19,200.

Anyone who would like to make a donation directly to Kristina and her family you can put 'For Kristina' in the message when making a donation on the JustGiving page.

To make donations to Fynn's campaign for refugees use the following web link: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/fynn-ukraine

Fynn and Jono remain in Poland helping the refugees, and Fynn plans to keep his JustGiving fundraising page going to continue raising money for his trip.

The donations from the JustGiving page help cover the expenses incurred while they are away in Poland such as fuel and for purchasing supplies for the refugee camp that were not donated. He is not sure when they will return home to Banbury, and wants to stay and help as long as possible.

Fynn said: "With your donation I'll do everything I can to help for the next weeks and with groups when I'm back."

Also travelling with Fynn, Jono and Kristina's family was another woman, who was from Kyiv and had been separated from her daughters after having sent them west for safety. The woman from Kyiv was reunited with her daughters at the train station in Vienna on Saturday March 12.

Fynn said: "It was really nice to see her smile, and it was unbelievable to see the joy on their faces together."

Fynn and Jono both took holiday time from their jobs to drive a transit van across Europe helping Ukrainian refugees. Fynn even cancelled a planned skiing holiday to Switzerland to help others in need.

He said: "For me it was nothing. But for them it's everything. I don't mind putting my life on hold to help them. I knew something had to be done. It's the least I could do."