Thousands of pounds were raised in aid of Ukrainian refugees at last Saturday’s (March 5) coffee morning in Okehampton’s Charter Hall.

Hundreds of residents attended Saturday’s event, the brainchild of Okehampton councillor Michael Ireland, and clubbed together to raise nearly £3,000 for the Ukrainian Red Cross, which is currently helping the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens who have fled the country following the Russian invasion.

Cllr Dr Ireland said of the event: ‘The coffee morning was overwhelming. Never have we run out of draw tickets and the response did not die down.

‘We didn’t expect it to be so busy. In fact, never in my life have I run a coffee morning so busy. In the first hour and a half we raised £350.

‘This is the message I want to get out there: we will continue to support the Ukrainian community in Okehampton.’

The plight of the Ukrainian people is particularly close to Cllr Dr Ireland’s heart, having travelled extensively around eastern Europe, including Ukraine, during his time as a university lecturer.

He has previously said of the ongoing crisis: ‘Much of my career as a university lecturer was spent travelling, teaching and working in the countries now affected by the crisis. It’s really hit home as it’s affected people I knew and travelled with.

‘I have actually been to these places and met these people and know what they are going through. It’s really had a personal resonance.’

The coffee morning’s raffle was especially successful, with high quality products donated as prizes by well-known stores such as Waitrose and the Co-op.

It took an hour for all raffle prizes to be won, which included a handbag at a retail price of £80, and the cake stall raised over £500 single-handedly.

Sheila Pot, an Okehampton resident, attended the event. She said: ‘Obviously I’m here to support the Red Cross which is such a brilliant organisation and it’s good to see the town coming together. It’s just so good to see so many people here and to see young and old together; a whole range of people.’

Okehampton resident and Ukrainian-born Oleksandr Kysil also attended the coffee morning and commented on how touched he was to see so much support from the town.

He said that he wished to thank the Okehampton community for all their support as he worries for his mother and sister who still live in northern Ukraine close to the Russian border and are currently in hiding, waiting for the time when they can escape.

‘I’m really proud. I want to say thank you to everyone. It’s just amazing to see the help from all the people because we need it. We are fighting for the truth and the whole world,’ he added.

The money will now be transferred to the Ukrainian Red Cross which is currently on the ground working to provide food, safe drinking water and other basic necessities to the now over a million Ukrainian refugees, many of whom are crossing the border into Poland.

The UK government has also promised to match any money raised by the UK public to the cause through its Aid Match scheme.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, following claims by Vladimir Putin that Russia could not feel safe with extremists in the Ukraine government

Ukraine has experienced eight years of fighting since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.