Local Heswall drop-off point closed while backlog of generous donations for Ukrainian refugees is cleared

Such has been the response to the creation of a local drop-off point for essentials for those fleeing the war in Ukraine, it has been obliged to close for a while.

When Nik Ellis and team at marketing company Revolution 4 decided to open up their premises at Whitfield Business Hub on Pensby Road they had little idea that at one point they would see people forming a queue in order to give.

In Heswall and district, in common with the rest of the country, people's generosity has been enormous.

Says Nik: "We've just had to pause it to clear the backlog. The centres we deliver donations to are themselves also saying they are overwhelmed, so we decided we need to allow a little time to free up the bottleneck.

"Thanks so much to everyone who came and sometimes had to be patient. We've all been touched by people's willingness to help.

"If we can handle more gifts we will certainly do so and let people know the Business Hub is open again."

In addition to physical donations, Britons have also given cash - more than £100 million to provide aid to Ukrainians fleeing the war after an appeal was launched by the UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

The total includes "generous" donations from the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge, as well as hundreds of thousands of members of the public.

"This amazing show of support for people fleeing the conflict has meant that we have been able to start spending money straight away to help more people," said Jo Kitterick, head of supporter engagement at the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, one of the charities involved.

"I want to thank everyone who has donated to help us support them in their moment of greatest need," she added.