THE Dunfermline-based International Fire Rescue Association have donated an ambulance to boost efforts to help Ukraine.

Director of the association David Kay OBE drove the four-by-four paramedic response unit to Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service along with his two children Matthew, 11, and Nicole, nine.

The vehicle was handed over to the area commander, Rob Clow, and will head over to the Polish and Ukrainian border this week as part of a larger convoy of vehicles.

David told the Press: "When something like this happens, and it's a relatively well-developed country which isn't that far away from us, you want to do something to help, and kids are very susceptible to this stuff. They want to make sure that they can do something to help but what can a kid do really?

"My kids just went, 'Look, we need to do something. Can we come with you and hand it over?' So they even did the presentation and handed over the keys."

David and his kids drove three-and-a-half hours to pass on the vehicle on April 6, putting it through an emergency MOT to ensure it was clear to head to the border.

He continued: "We had been told that it had been accepted but they just checked in the database, and it didn't have its MOT, so we had to spend £1,000 getting it put through its MOT.

"The garage at Thornton, Ross Fernie Motors, did a fantastic job. They spent days on it, fixing it for us."

"It's not going to be the only thing that we're sending but, obviously, this is a situation where you need to get them down quickly.

"I think if you have a look at some of the photographs that you've seen and the film footage, they're going to need a lot of fire engines and ambulances, rather than just soldiers. They will need a lot of response stuff to help out."