Poppies will be on sale on Brighton streets as volunteer steps in

Poppies will now be on sale on the streets of Brighton and Hove after a volunteer came forward at the 11th hour.

A member of staff who works for the Royal British Legion and who lives locally has volunteered to run the annual poppy appeal in Brighton and Hove in his spare time.

It looked as though poppies would only be on sale in shops, supermarkets and restaurants with national supply chains after the long-serving local poppy appeal co-ordinator stepped down.

British Legion bosses said that there had not been enough time to recruit a replacement to oversee the local poppy appeal.

The annual appeal – the biggest fundraiser for the Royal British Legion – starts today (Thursday 26 October).

And with the reprieve, work to distribute poppies to street sellers should start at the weekend, with the volunteers out and about shortly afterwards.

As usual, others will be out in the suburbs including Patcham and Woodingdean.

The Legion’s poppy appeal manager for the south east, Graham Ferris, told the BBC that a member of staff had volunteered to save the day.

Mr Ferris previously said that local poppy appeal organisers oversee orders and deliveries, collect money and deal with “a lot of paperwork”.

The money raised goes towards supporting the Legion’s work with Britain’s armed forces veterans.

Mr Ferris told BBC Radio Sussex last week: “Sadly, our long-serving and loyal poppy appeal organiser for central Brighton stepped down recently and we need a replacement.

“To be perfectly honest, there won’t be enough time to recruit somebody for that role for this year because it carries a lot of responsibility.

“But we will make sure that poppies will be available for anyone who wants them across the city centre.”

The Legion’s poppy appeal manager for Sussex, Lauryn Francis, said: “We want to reassure the people of Brighton that, as usual, they will be able to get a Remembrance poppy this year, including our new plastic-free version.

“In Brighton and Hove, poppies will be available in supermarkets – including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and One Stop – and our poppy collectors will be in suburbs including Patcham and Woodingdean.

“We’re incredibly grateful to all our dedicated volunteers in Brighton and across the UK who help us to run the poppy appeal.

“We want to encourage everyone to get a poppy this year and show the armed forces they care.

“The money raised from the Royal British Legion’s poppy appeal helps veterans and their families all year round.

“We would also like to encourage all those who are interested in supporting us to get in touch via our website rbl.org.uk/poppyappeal.”