A RECORD-BREAKING sum of more than £15,000 has been raised by volunteers in Alcester’s latest Royal British Legion (RBL) Poppy Appeal.

An incredible £15,126 was collected through a range of fundraising including tireless street and door-to-door collections, a pop-up poppy shop on High Street and the annual Festival of Remembrance Concert at the Greig Centre.

The highest figure raised before this was in 2007 when the total reached £15,094.

Poppy Appeal organiser David Malin said: "Last year I set a target of £15,100 so we could beat all branch records.

"It was touch and go, even though we had a very successful Poppy Shop in the town, but the townspeople have not let me down.

"When I totalled the money up I was extremely excited and couldn't wait to get the extra money banked."

Mr Malin added: "Nationally, the Royal British Legion spends nearly 1.4 million pounds a week supporting its beneficiaries and this includes people in the Alcester area. Its a big task but we can certainly do our bit."

Poppy Appeal volunteers hope to increase this total even more by holding a coffee morning at Church House on Saturday, April 16 between 10am and noon.

A raffle and refreshments will be on offer.

On Friday, June 3 Alcester RBL celebrates its 95th birthday and to mark the occasion a special awards night will be held at 7pm in the Jubilee Centre for local Poppy Appeal collectors and supporters.

Anyone interested in supporting the Poppy Appeal can contact Mr Malin on 07880 319427.