A BUSINESS owner has travelled more than 2,000 miles to deliver much-needed supplies to Ukrainian refugees.

Jaymey McIvor set up a donation point at Talking Flowers in Maldon High Street for residents to drop off supplies for people in Ukraine.

The business is part of the Capital Flowers Florists group and the Maldon branch, run by Jaymey, was inundated with donations.

The 23-year-old entrepreneur got to work with his friend Mark Platt packing boxes, donated by removal company Pretlove's, with medical supplies and toiletries donated to Talking Flowers shops across Essex.

READ MORE: #ThereWithUkraine: We're launching our Ukraine appeal - how you can help

The pair drove a van loaned by the Chigwell Group, which also covered the travel expenses for the 2,100-mile journey after group chairman Dean Floyd was impressed and wanted to help.

Customers also kindly made donations to help fuel the trip.

Jaymey and Mark drove for more than 34 hours to Poland and back, staying in Warsaw before they returned.

Maldon and Burnham Standard: The distribution centre in WarsawThe distribution centre in Warsaw

Jaymey said: "The 17-hour drive was worth every minute when the kind volunteers in Poland received our much needed donations.

"As we closed in on Warsaw we were amongst other people who have shown initiative from across Europe, waving and tooting each other.

"There was a huge sense of comradeship with others.

"The closer we got to Poland people were waving at us recognising the purpose of our trip because of the Chigwell Group van design."

READ MORE: Fundraiser by high street businesses raises over £1.5k for people in Ukraine

The pair met volunteers at the Warsaw distribution centre who confirmed the donations would be going straight to their contacts in Ukrainian hospitals and civilian areas.

"I felt I owed it to the generosity of my customers in Maldon to see the donations get to where they needed to go," Jaymey continued.

"We didn’t just go the extra mile, we went most of the way."

Other businesses in Maldon supported the initiative and Jaymey has thanked them as well as Chigwell Group, his friend Mark and the teams at Capital Flowers for all their help.

But Jaymey says his biggest thank you goes to his customers, and added: "The generosity of my customers has meant every donation was of quality and therefore will make a huge difference."