Two Banbury area brothers help Ukrainian refugees smile with delivery of custom-made cushions, pillow cases and stickers in Ukrainian colours

Two Banbury area brothers, Ian and Andrew Bathe, left Chacombe village near Banbury on Friday March 4 driving through black ice and snow in some areas and arrived in the Polish town of Sieniawa several days later.

The two brothers delivered a van full of donated supplies and clothes, which had been collected and dropped off at Chacombe Village Hall, the Greatworth Inn and the Co-op and Henry's Café in Middleton Cheney.

Ian Bathe, who grew up in Middleton Cheney but now lives in nearby Blakesley, said: "We handed out full-sized pillow cases and cushions in the Ukrainian colours for them. It was like you were giving them gold bars.

"One lady burst into tears when she saw it, and said she was almost ashamed that we went to so much trouble. They were absolutely overwhelmed with it all."

Women from Middleton Cheney and Brackley provided the handmade pillow cases and cushions in the blue and gold colours of Ukraine for the brothers to give away.

Ian and Andrew also delivered T-shirts and arm bands with the Ukrainian colours on them along with a large amount of boxes full of supplies and clothing for the refugees. They also delivered face paints for the children and families, which were used to paint the colours of the Ukrainian flags on their faces.

"It was such a surreal experience going right to the border where they were coming across. You could really sense their relief.

"I'm a self-employed builder by trade, and I just wanted to do my bit to help the people of Ukraine.

"It was definitely a life changing experience. It made us realise what we have in life."

In the weeks since his return from the Ukrainian border Ian has organised a raffle and auction to further help the people of Ukraine.

The raffle has over 50 prizes donated from Banbury area businesses worth more than a total of £6,000.

The raffle will be held at The Greatworth Inn from 7pm on Saturday April 9. Tickets for the raffle are £2 each, and can be purchased at the following locations: The Greatworth Inn, Henry's Café in Middleton Cheney, the Combat Cellar in Northampton and the Petstop in Bugbrooke until Friday April 8. Tickets can also be purchased on the night. There will also be engraved Ukrainian keychains for sale on the night at £4 each.

The money raised from the raffle will go towards the purchase of generators to be used in Ukraine.

Ian said: "We just need as many people to turn up on the night to support us. It's purely for the hospitals and orphanages because they haven't got any power."

Some of the more than 50 prizes include: a chauffeur hire in a Lea Francis classic car (donated from a Middleton Cheney resident), a one-hour limo hire (CMC Performance Cars), a new Trek Marlin 4 Mountain Bike 2022 (from Leisure Lake Bikes), a load of logs (MPS Fuels), bundle of Hobbycraft goodies (Hobbycraft-Banbury), four child places at paint your own ceramic workshop – 30mins (Hobbycraft-Banbury), red, white and rose wine hamper (Banbury Blues Netball Club) and WV6 Pressure window vac (Karcher - Banbury).

Some of the other prizes also include vouchers from the following businesses: Lighting Studio voucher - £250 (Dar Lighting - Banbury), Rally Stage 1 – Adrenaline Rally Experience (Silverstone Rally School), a free MOT (Herbies-Banbury), Therapixie Massage worth £45 (Middleton Cheney), voucher for two at The George & Dragon (Chacombe) worth £25, two x Mumford Butchers worth £25 in Culworth, Henry’s Café in Middleton Cheney worth £25, Hole in the Hedge in Greatworth worth £20, three x at The New Inn worth £10 in Middleton Cheney, two lunchboxes from the Grimsbury Fish Bar- Banbury.