Agent's war hero grandad inspires epic Ukraine aid mission

On Sunday (24 April), Crawford will set off with a van full of goods donated by locals and drive to a hostel in Odzrykon in Poland, for which he has been raising money over the past few weeks.

"When everyone started booking Airbnbs to support those affected by the war, I decided to do the same, and it sort of started to snowball from there really," he said.

"I started getting to know the owners, and the one I was booking was an actual hostel with 10 or so rooms. I ended up raising about €4,000 for them. But I wanted to go out there, even though I was 99.9% sure it was all properly legit, spend three four days there and hand the last €1,000 over in person – in cash."

Crawford anticipates the journey will cost up to £1,000 in petrol, on top of the £717 it cost to hire the van for a week. "It would have been easier to sell all the goods and donate the money," he said. "But I’ve committed to it, and if we’re out there for three days we can help to physically distribute it.

"I have a contact out there who collects goods for soldiers and refugees in need. I’m driving it out because I know exactly where it is going."

Anyone wishing to contribute to Crawford’s appeal can do so via JustGiving here.