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VLAD BUS-TERS
BENDY buses from Luton Airport are being used in Ukraine in the battle against Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Three of the 54ft single-deckers — once used to ferry holidaymakers to the nearby railway station — carry battle-weary soldiers from the front line for rest and recuperation.
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They still have their purple livery in a bid to stop them being targeted by Russian invaders.
The latest bus arrived on Friday after a 1,500-mile journey.
It was donated by the Go-Ahead bus group as a new monorail at Luton meant it was no longer needed.
The trips have been arranged by Wiltshire-based Swindon Humanitarian Aid Partnership, which has transferred 1,300 tonnes of aid to eastern Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
Chair Mike Bowden, 63, said: “Our role is to bring together the very generous public spirit in this country and get what we can out to Ukraine as quickly as possible.
“We drove the buses from Swindon to Dover and over to Calais, where we hand them over to our Ukrainian colleagues. They then take them home to Ukraine.
“One poor chap looked like he’d never driven a bus before, and appeared quite horrified at the thought of driving a bendy bus all that way. But it made it.”
Mike, a retired corporate lawyer, added: “Traditionally you would paint such buses white with red crosses on the roof.
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“But we have been specially asked not to repaint them so they look as close to public service buses as possible from the air and don’t stand out.
“This is because Russian forces are deliberately targeting hospitals and emergency workers.”
He went on: “Our enthusiasm, determination and commitment are our greatest strength — and we will continue our work for as long as it is needed.”
Mike hopes to raise more than £100,000 to convert and send up to 40 second-hand buses no longer needed in the UK.
The group has already provided another single-decker which is working as a mobile field hospital.
A spokesman for the Go-Ahead Group said: “Rather than scrap the buses, we decided to put them to good use.”
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