THOUSANDS of blankets donated by people in Kent are on their way to help youngsters in urgent need of help. Bundle upon bundle of blankets were packed into a huge lorry at the start of the long haul to the Ukraine, a country rife with malnutrition, disease, and poverty.

The blanket appeal was launched by members of Maidstone Rotary Club in May with the help of the Kent Messenger newspaper and supported by schools across the county town.

More help came from Butcher's Removals and Storage which stored the blankets at its depot in Farleigh Lane, Barming.

Elaine Craven, president of the rotary club's Dawn Patrol, said: "I am delighted with the number of blankets we received - particularly in such a short space of time." She stressed the desperate plight of people in the Ukraine and praised Eastbourne-based rotary company Mustard Seed, which is flying the blankets out to the impoverished former Soviet state.

The blankets are bound for 3,000 children in an orphanage in the Ukranian town of Lebredin. In a recent report, Mustard Seed revealed how 60 of the children were rushed to hospital after contracting what appeared to be a life-threatening illness. Only later did doctors discover that the children were not suffering from disease but malnutrition.

Maidstone's Palace Wood Junior School, Invicta Grammar School, Park Way Primary School, Shepway Infants School and Astor of Hever School were among the many to give blankets.

The blankets were left at drop-off points at the Kent Messenger offices, in Middle Row, Maidstone, and at the town's Earl Street Employment Agency, where Mrs Craven is director.

Mrs Craven added: "People are keen to continue with the campaign so we would love to receive more blankets." For more information about the appeal and to donate blankets contact Earl Street Employment Agency, Pudding Lane, Maidstone, Maidstone, 01622 755329.