A Watton-At Stone man in Poland to help Ukrainian refugees crossing the border has been involved in the dramatic rescue of a one-month-old baby called Hope.

Richard Knight is among a group of three people who left the United Kingdom last week and drove a mini-bus for 28 hours to Krakow, in Poland.

The mini-bus was full of aid for Ukrainian refugees, which was collected by church-goers in the diocese of St Albans.

The aid was dropped off by the group in the village of Medyka, which is on the border of Poland and Ukraine and home to a refugee camp.

However, the main purpose of their trip was to help Ukrainian refugees looking for somewhere to stay until the war is over.

Last Thursday the group - which also includes Adam Hale-Sutton and David Powles, from Norfolk, and Vita, a Ukrainian who fled her city of Kyiv and then agreed to act as the group's interpreter - took a mini-bus and van to pick up a group of eight people seeking a safe haven.

This included a one-month-old girl called Hope - born on the day the Russian invasion began - her mother and teenage brother.

After dropping off food provisions at the border humanitarian aid centre, which were delivered into Ukraine, the group had to seek a child’s car seat in order to bring Hope to their Krakow hotel base.

Mr Knight managed to find a solo baby seat along ‘The Passage’ - the route in which the refugees arrive into Poland - at the tent of a women’s charity called United Sikhs.

The group then had to ferry eight Ukrainians, the family, plus two others, on a three-hour late night journey back to the hotel HQ in blizzard conditions.

Baby Hope and family have now been transported to Dublin where they will find a safe haven until they can return home.

During his week in Poland, the 61-year-old has been involved in the safe transportation of more than 20 Ukrainians, including eight children, a dog, cat and even a guinea pig.

Earlier this week he boarded a flight to Dublin with his wife Sharon to ensure another family made it safely over. From Dublin he returned home.

In his own words

I was thinking and reflecting on my experiences over the last week and I had a picture in my mind of a pinball machine.

I think my ‘go to’ words when trying to express things to others have been 'bizarre and surreal'.

Hearing the horrific stories from across the border, witnessing the people we come into contact with and trying to have an understanding of their experiences and journey has been hard.

Talking to one person, she reflected how, despite the horror and trauma, she now appreciated and misses the little things like a coffee with friends or going food shopping.

She did say how, having struggled previously with depression and just wanting to hide away, she had started praying and she was now waking up in the morning thankful for being alive.

The experiences highlight the extremes of humanity. It’s cruelty and greed - the war and all that does to people, the trafficking, the abuse and deception of the vulnerable.

But we have seen the best of people as well. The support and love of strangers and neighbours coming together, sharing and helping, all brought together by this joint experience.

People from different walks of life, backgrounds, means, cultures, ethnicities, dialects all on the same level as one. Love and kindness brought together by a common experience.

On my last leg of the trip I am chaperoning a family to Dublin with my wife who arrived the day before. We had a good trip, got them registered on arrival and had some heart felt “goodbyes”. We are currently waiting at Dublin to fly back to the UK.

I think that is the end of a chapter, a little mission completed.