Used candle donations soar for Ukraine stove maker

"It is quite honestly amazing" - Mark Stevens just cannot believe how much candle wax is being sent his way.

The retired silversmith hit the headlines in January as he discussed how he collected candles from churches and shops so he could use the wax to make temporary stoves for people in Ukraine.

Since then, he said he had had donations from as far away as Belfast and Scotland, with 600kg (110lbs) in total of wax donated to him.

"I am just amazed of the generosity of people," Stevens said.

"Everytime I go into St Lawrence's Church [in Ludlow] there is another bag for me.

"At one point, in my garage last week, I couldn't get in the door."

His donations have included ones from manufacturers as well as Worcester Cathedral, he said.

Stevens makes all of the stoves himself and boxes them up so they can be sent to the front line.

He estimates he spends three days a week just on the stoves, then donates them to organisations who send them directly to the Eastern European country.

Last weekend, this included more than 200kg (441lbs) being sent on a lorry from Shrewsbury to Kharkiv.

The two groups he sends to the most are Shropshire Supports Ukraine and Macclesfield Ukrainian Aid, in Cheshire.

In Ukraine, many people have been left without power and heating, after Russia launched a wave of targeted attacks on the country's power grid in January.

Stevens vowed to keep using his skills to help those in Ukraine "for as long as the war goes on".

"In the winter months in Ukraine, they are suffering temperatures of -16°C to -20°C," he said.

"They have no lighting so something as simple as a candle makes a difference to people's lives.

"It's a matter of life and death for people."

He has personally travelled to Ukraine four times and plans to make the trip again next month.

Despite the material being designed to burn and emit heat, he said crossing international borders on his humanitarian mission did not throw up any big challenges for him.

"Once we are on the continent, there is no trouble there," Stevens said.

"The border in the Ukraine are more than welcoming. They know who we are, they know what we are doing and they welcome us."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.