Council chiefs are investigating a request to give a special dispensation to remove Business Rates for a restaurant at the heart of efforts to collect items for Ukraine.

The owners of the Prosperity café in York Street, Twickenham, have effectively had to stop selling food and drink as they work full-time at collecting and sorting donations.

Galyna Kosyn'ka and her partner Alex Yarema are now working around the clock on their humanitarian work.

Instead of serving borscht and dumplings they are surrounded by a team of volunteers working long hours dealing with donations of emergency items, from sleeping bags to bandages, toiletries, medicines, nappies and mobile phone power banks.

Once loaded on to the vans, the donations are driven to a junction just off the M25 where larger trucks take the goods to the border of Ukraine through a safe corridor in Poland.

The team posted a video of the donations arriving, saying: "Our first lorry with humanitarian aid donations arriving in Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine - ready to be distributed regionally.

"Thank you everyone for your hard work and unwavering support …. It has been challenging but the love felt throughout the community has prevailed. Let's keep up the fantastic work."

A letter has been sent to Council leader, Gareth Roberts, and every other councillor asking them to waive Business Rates for the café during the emergency.

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It states: "You will be aware of the extraordinary efforts that the owners of Prosperity Restaurant and Café in Twickenham have made over the last two weeks in giving up their time and business premises to provide a collection, sorting and distribution point for the residents of Richmond borough to make donations of clothes and other items to assist the people of Ukraine affected by the war in their country.

"I am sure you and your fellow councillors would like to consider giving what is a relatively small monetary allowance from the council budget to avoid the project having to pay business rates from the funds raised by donations which would otherwise be used to provide much needed provisions for those in suffering."

Supporters of the café hope that the Council will agree, if it has the legal powers to do so.

Council leader Gareth Roberts said a false story has been circulating on social media suggesting councillors voted against giving the café relief from paying Business Rates.

He said this is 100per cent not true and has caused some unfair criticism of councillors.

Cllr Roberts said: "Unfortunately, owing to this irresponsible and completely untrue post on NextDoor, councillors are now receiving emails complaining about the vote, a vote that never happened, and having their reputations tarnished."

The Council leader said he is sympathetic to the idea of helping the café but is unable to talk publicly about specific businesses.