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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Lynn Love

Brave Scots landscapers rescue granny and boy on ventilator in daring Ukraine missions

Two brave Scottish landscapers escorted a granny and took a mother and her sick son over the border during a number of daring rescue missions in Ukraine.

Joseph McCarthy, 55, from Falkirk, and Gary Taylor, 45, from Bonnyrigg, set off for the war-torn country at the start of March desperate to help fleeing refugees.

Despite once being held up by Russian troops at gunpoint, Joe and Gary continue to risk their own lives and remain on the ground in Ukraine.

So far the pals have helped around 20 people get to safety, thanks to the £45,000 worth of donations they have received from their supporters.

They've been sharing their journey via livestreams on TikTok under their business handle of @ready2rocklandscaping.

Amongst those they have rescued was a Grandma from Odessa.

Joe and Gary have been in Ukraine since the start on March (TikTok)

Joe and Gary drove the pensioner to the border where she was then planning to travel onwards to Canada to meet her young grandchildren for the first time.

The lady appeared to be over the moon when she reached the other side and can be seen hugging and kissing the men for making it happen.

The brave pair also took a mum and her son, who relied on a ventilator, along with their little dog from Odessa to the Polish border where an ambulance collected them.

They stayed overnight before travelling to Bulgaria where the poorly youngster could receive treatment.

It comes the Scottish landscapers appeared on ITV's This Morning earlier this month to speak about a terrifying ordeal when they were held up at gunpoint.

The Scots pals rescued a gran in Odessa (TikTok)

They denied being "heroes", telling Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield that they were just doing what anyone else would.

Viewers heard how they decided to purchase a new work vehicle before packing it up and travelling to Ukraine after typing it into Google Maps.

Joe and Gary joined Holly and Phil today via video link to talk about their journey so far and everything they've had to face, including having to buy a new car and going a different route.

Gary told Holly: "It was easy enough to get here but we were having trouble at the borders so we nipped into Romania and hired a people carrier."

Holly then went on to ask them about the frightening encounter they had with a Russian convoy and the pair revealed that they shot the tyres of their vehicle, stripped their van and took one of their phones.

The pair also took a mum and her son, who relied on a ventilator to the Polish border (TikTok)

They had been heading for the north-eastern city of Sumy, which has been under heavy shelling from Russian forces.

They said: "They held us at the side of the van, with gun to our heads and ripped the van apart. We met a police man who wrote us a nice letter which is helping us get about."

However, in a message on her personal profile, Joe's wife Fiona said the pair had found themselves in trouble after encountering a Russian convoy.

She said the tyres on their van had been shot out and the van had been "raided".

In a tearful address, Fiona said: "Guys, they won't be back online. They've had their van raided.

"They've shot the tyres out, two front tyres. They've taken Joe's phone, so all they've got left is Gary's phone.

To donate to their plight click here.

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