COMMUNITY PUB LAUNCHES COLLECTION FOR THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE

A Shepherd Neame pub is opening its doors to donations for the people of Ukraine.

The Bull Inn in Faversham is launching its community collection for the relief effort to help the inhabitants of the war-torn country today (Thursday, March 10), after licensee Sara Apps was moved to help while watching the event unfold.

Sara, who has run the pub in Tanners Street, Faversham for almost a quarter of a century with husband and fellow licensee Martin, said: “We were sat upstairs after dinner and I said to Martin, ‘We are sitting here on our sofa, in our nice warm home watching it all and how would we feel if we suddenly had to just put things in a suitcase and leave everything else behind and go? I just have to do something. Our lives are going on as normal at the moment and then that is happening there. We can’t just sit by and do nothing.’ ”

The pair are appealing for donations from an official list of suitable items, which will be collected in their function room, before being sent to a bigger distribution centre to be transported to those in need.

Items include toiletries and baby wipes; disposable cutlery; thermal socks, dog and cat food and new sleeping bags, with a full list available on the pub’s Facebook page.

Collection times will fall around the pub’s opening hours, which are after 4pm on weekdays Monday to Thursday, and Fridays from 1pm. 

The community-focused pub also held collections during the pandemic, raising money for the ambulance service and local hospital services.