THE North East Ambulance Service has assisted in the worldwide efforts to support Ukrainian people.

NEAS donated four vehicles and 79 defibrillators as part of the region's coordinated NHS aid effort to send essential supplies to health teams in Ukraine.

The operation was led by the QE Gateshead NHS Trust.

Kevin Scollay, director of finance at North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), said: “The NHS is built on kindness and compassion, and we were therefore keen to do what we could to help when the opportunity arose.

“We had a number of decommissioned vehicles and defibrillators which we were preparing to donate to charity, and so this seemed the most obvious and practical way for us to help."

The BBC has reported the ambulances were soon deployed after missile strikes in the country.