A grandmother who raised £3,000 to send truckloads of goods to underprivileged people in the Ukraine says she is “delighted” her hard work has paid off.

Rosalind Bluestone, of Bullhead Road, Borehamwood, raised £3,000 to send boxes of consumer goods to families in the east of the country.

She launched charitable enterprise Goods4Goods to help people in the former Soviet country herself.

The goods finally reached the Ukraine in March after Dutch charity Humanitarian Resources International Foundation helped transport them.

Mrs Bluestone said: “I’m absolutely delighted. Its thrilling to see this work being done, having built this enterprise up from scratch really.

“I’m very grateful to the Dutch charity that has supported us with logistics, and all our volunteers.”

Goods4Goods takes surplus stock donated from British industry, and sends it to people in need overseas.

Money raised went towards the logistics of transporting the packages, and the costs of clearing customs in order to reach Ukraine. Mrs Bluestone described the work of volunteers as precarious, in an area where many people have been displaced from their homes due to conflict which broke out due to a Russian backed insurgency.

The charity has recently been given a warehouse in Borehamwood by a businessman.

Mrs Bluestone said: “I’m not just grateful, I’m over the moon. I’ve been looking for somewhere to be based since the inception of Goods4Goods last year.

“It’s on our doorstep, and now we can involve the local community more, and have a presence in the local community.”

The project will share the lease for the site with the charity Jami. Mrs Bluestone hopes it will be up and running by the end of April.