A grandma who is flying out to Poland to help Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn homeland says she's "just doing her bit".
Wanda Warrington, 55, who goes by Wendy, will travel to Przemysl - a city next to the Poland-Ukraine border which has become a sanctuary for refugees since Russia's invasion earlier this month.
Wendy - a qualified nurse and midwife - says she felt "compelled" to get involved and help alleviate the suffering of those displaced by Putin's troops, Manchester Evening News reports.
The gran-of-five, who lives in Tottington, Greater Manchester, has taken three weeks off her NHS job and is using her own funds to support herself while 1,300 miles away in Eastern Europe.
She explained: "I just want to go and do my bit.
"I'm nobody special. I'm a 55-year-old woman with three kids and five grandchildren.
"I want to offer some practical support in what I'm trained to do. I just want to make a bit of a difference."
Wendy, who has worked for the NHS for 36 years, has family in Poland and her parents and grandparents were born in the country.
Her grandfather moved to the UK after surviving the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Wendy is fluent in Polish and has been involved in collecting donations for Ukraine at the Polish Social Centre in Bury.
While in Poland, she will be working as a first responder alongside two medical students.
She said: "I'm apprehensive but quite excited.
"I don't know what will happen or how it will transpire but I don't feel unsafe.
"My husband has made me promise not to cross the border to Ukraine and my eight-year-old granddaughter made me promise I will come back."
Wendy, who also works as lecturer at the University of Chester's Warrington campus, said her bosses and family have all been supportive of her decision.
A JustGiving page has raised more than £3,000 towards medical supplies, which her husband Simon will be helping to ship out to Poland with the help of his employer, Segen.
Simon said: "I knew my wife would have to go over there.
"That's the sort of person she is. She's going into the unknown so I do feel apprehensive.
"I get a bit emotional when I think about it but I'm proud of what she is doing."
