85 year old North Yorkshire man planning another aid trip to Ukraine
John Shackleton had said he'd done his last mission
An 85 year old man from Harrogate's been telling us about his "harrowing" trip to the front line in Ukraine.
John Shackleton delivered two 4x4s to Kyiv: "Well, they wanted 4 wheel drives so instead of buying an ambulance, I bought 2 Ford Trucks, 4 wheel trucks and they're now in use, moving the dead and the wounded from the front line to the field hospital."
"I didn't realise what I've let myself in for because we were within half mile of where the fighting was and they were bringing the dead and the wounded out past us. It's not the kind of scene most of us have ever seen and it's quite, quite upsetting."
It's a nice feeling when you are giving a little bit back
John then tells us how he returned home to Harrogate: "Hitchhiking is different on the continent. Well, especially where I go when you go right into the East. You're thumbing it but you have a little note in your hand and the drivers can see that you're prepared to pay for them to stop so it's not that bad. They they do stop and they stop very quickly and then of course, we'll catch a bus, which we did do, we caught a train.
"We got lost, when we got into Poland at the airport, they were screaming out will Mr Shackleton, please come, the aircraft is about to take off. So we really cut it fine. It's always a bit of a gamble. Last year we were in Georgia, right up in the borders of Russia and they banned all planes. We ended up making our own way and we have to carry all our gear on our back. We live and sleep in the ambulance, so we've got quite a bit of gear. It took three weeks and it should have taken, well, a day and a half.
John had vowed his last trip, which was his 50th would be his last. "I was thinking it's a nice number to round off, but it seems as if I'm not ready, you know for it to be over. It's a nice feeling when you're giving a little bit back. I've been very fortunate you know, I've dabbled in all sorts of businesses. I I blew bombs up for seven years. I was a full time Mountaineer on the Brecon Beacons. I was a property developer, ran an art studio and thank God I've been successful in most. So I do have the means and I'm fit enough to give a little bit back to humanity."
You can find out more about John's work here