A midwife from Tottington who went to Poland and Ukraine to help refugees fleeing the war has been recognised with a national award.

Wendy Warrington is an NHS registered nurse and midwife and paid for a trip to support women, children and families in Ukraine after war broke out this year.

The 55-year-old has now won the Best Midwife award at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins Awards.

She first travelled to Poland for three weeks in March to offer medical support at the Tesco Humanitarian Centre in Przemyśl, a town close to the Ukraine border.

Wendy said: “I quickly moved into Ukraine after promising my family I would not cross into Ukraine.

“I undertook evacuations of people fleeing the war and we moved adults and children with my Polish paramedic friend from Ukraine into Poland and onto hospitals or the medical train.

“This included adults and children with cancer.

"I also medically evacuated a former British soldier who was in the Foreign Legion who was seriously injured in a mortar attack so he could get back to UK for further treatment.”

Then in May, Wendy and her husband Simon moved to Poland for four months where she spent most of her time delivering medical and Humanitarian support with a Polish priest who lives in Ukraine.

She went to many high risk places including Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia among others and most recently into newly liberated areas which are still very dangerous, to reach communities that were previously occupied.

Wendy has close connections to Poland with her parents and grandparents being born there.

She can speak fluent Polish which helped her volunteering in the country.

Speaking about her award she said: “I attended The Sun Who Cares Wins Awards in London on November 25.

“I was nominated for best midwife, I did not expect to win! The other two midwives in the category were both deserving of the award.

“I did not do this for awards, I just wanted to help the women and babies of Ukraine to offer some support and reassurance.

“I am most humbled to receive the award, but it was never about awards for me.”

A week after receiving the award Wendy went back to Ukraine and travelled more than 1,200km in a day which took 16 hours in icy, freezing conditions to deliver aid and medical support.

Bury Times:

She added: “Why do I do it? Because I have grandchildren! I would want someone to help them in the same situation.

“I am not a hero, I just wanted to make a bit of a difference using the skills I was trained for.

“I feel truly honoured that I have been recognised but it is not about me it is about the people of Ukraine!”