A natural desire to help has turned into a full-time job for Cleator Moor's Nina Albertelli.

Nina, 44, manages the Wrath Brow Hornets Gym and runs fitness classes in Cleator Moor.

Now she spends hours every day sorting the vast collection of goods donated for Ukraine - and she knows that these collections will et to the people through contacts she has built up with an embassy on the German border.

Like everyone, she was shocked by the situation in Ukraine and posted a couple of notices around the gym asking for donations.

She had no idea what she had started.

"The response has been overwhelming.  But in 11 days we have achieved so much.

"We now have collection points all over West Cumbria and Mark Telford, the owner of Forth Engineering, has given us the use of a large warehouse - and we have almost filled it."

READ MORE: Forth Engineering's Ukraine efforts 

Nina is being helped in her efforts by Nikki Wyatt from The Waffle Box in Cleator Moor and local Polish man, Bart  Mikolajczyk.

"We didn't even know each other 11 days ago and now we speak to each other more than we speak to our own families!"

Once they had gathered to vans and two carloads of donations they prepared to take them to the Plish Shop dino in Carlisle but were turned back because the shop, too, had been overwhelmed by donations.

So now they are the collectors. they have drivers going to Poland with goods - including a man from Blackpool who offered to drive just for the cost of the petrol.

Whitehaven News: GENEROSITY: This pile sspeaks of how people are respnding to UkraineGENEROSITY: This pile sspeaks of how people are respnding to Ukraine

Through Bart they have made contact with an embassy in Szczecin who have offered to ensure that the donations get to the people who need them. 

There is a refugee camp just 15 miles away and two vans leaving here soon will be taking goods to the camp as well as the embassy.

A Facebook page will be set up this week with details of what to give. No clothes are needed at the moment but there is a need for baby foods and formula, nappies, paracetamol or ibuprofen, bandages, and the like.

"This is not just a short-term thing for us. we are here for the long haul," Nina said.

To donate  to the Ukrainian cause go to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-get-supplies-to-the-ukrainian-people?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cf%20share-flow-1&fbclid=IwAR10CJB1EkO1Cbn1YPdSlD299FNjqGzU7729aQC6UR_fgbAw04nl7Alf9_s