'I wanted an ambulance for my 70th - not a spa day'
Sharon Maxted, from Kenilworth, is driving the ambulance, packed with medical supplies, to Ukraine.
'I wanted an ambulance for my 70th - not a spa day'
Sharon will drop off the ambulance with the supplies near Ukraine and fly back home
A woman from Kenilworth said her birthday wish came true when she received an ambulance for her 70th birthday.
Instead of jewellery or a spa day, Sharon Maxted said she wanted to do "something special" to celebrate turning 70 in June, and she will now drive an ambulance loaded with medical supplies, warm clothes and a mobility scooter to Ukraine with her husband David.
The couple will leave on Friday, driving to eastern Poland, where they will leave the ambulance and its supplies before flying home.
"My husband said he would only buy me one if I agreed to drive it which was a bit of a shock to the system and I am a bit worried as we have had an automatic car for five years," Sharon said.
"I have downloaded 17 hours of 1970s music, and I will be singing along to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now," she added.
The plan came through her husband David's work with Kenilworth Lions, which works with Leamington-based charity Belvedere, providing humanitarian aid to people affected by the war in Ukraine, including ambulances, medical equipment and supplies.
Sharon will be driving across Europe to Ukraine alongside her husband David.
David, who has already made two trips to Ukraine himself driving an ambulance with medical supplies, said the journeys were "always very worthwhile".
Sharon will be taking the charity's 70th ambulance to Ukraine since the war began.
She told BBC CWR that she is somewhat worried about driving the vehicle across Europe, but her husband has reassured her that most of the journey will be on the motorway.
Sharon said she was "tearful" at the amount of donated clothes she will be taking to Ukraine.
Sharon said she had received many clothing donations to take in her ambulance from the Kenilworth Lions and from a feminist group she belongs to, Soroptimist International of Kenilworth and District, which aims to improve the lives of women and girls.
"I have been quite tearful on occasion with just how generous people are who have donated, there have even been barely worn garments – it is amazing what people have contributed."
Their daughter Claire said she was "very proud" of how her parents "give so much back to their communities and do their bit to change peoples' lives for the better".
"It is our 50th wedding anniversary next year so who knows what mischief we might get up to," Sharon said.