Warwickshire donated ambulance destroyed in Ukraine

An ambulance donated to help with the aid effort in Ukraine has been destroyed by missiles, a not-for-profit group said.

Ambulance Aid, based in Warwickshire, fundraises to buy ambulances to send to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict, BBC reports.

Volunteers said they were "deeply relieved" no-one had been killed in the bombing.

It has appealed for help with funds to take further supplies at the end of the month.

Ambulance Aid has so far sent Ukraine five ambulances and one SUV and works with another group, Medical Aid Ukraine West Midlands, to fill the ambulances with medical supplies.

It said missiles had destroyed the building in which ambulance was parked in Slovyansk, causing the damage.

Claudine Pearson, volunteer director, said: "This is a stark reminder of the reality on the ground in Ukraine.

"We are deeply relieved there were no casualties; the one person inside at the time of the attack escaped with only concussion."

She said the organisation was on standby to deliver two more ambulances to hospitals in need, but called for more donations to help fund the next delivery.

Dr Tania Hebert, co-ordinator of Medical Aid Ukraine West Midlands, was born to Ukrainian parents and lived there until she was four, when she came to the UK.

Now a GP in Coventry, she said the destruction of the ambulance had left her "heartbroken".

"This ambulance was a symbol of hope, our first-ever mission," she said.

"We will not give up - we will send more medical aid and vehicles. There is no other way."