MORE than £20,000 has been raised for the Poppy Appeal in Risca - in less than two months.

Risca's branch of the Royal British Legion has announced the amount it has raised since launching its annual fundraising appeal at the start of October is £23,247.04.

This cash was raised through more than 100 collection boxes around the area, the sponsored poppies on posts and the volunteer poppy sellers in local supermarkets of Morrisons and Tesco.

New Poppy Appeal organiser for the area, Iain Jones, was delighted with the amount – a record for Risca.

“It is a fantastic amount," he said. "The whole year of the Poppy Appeal is a huge team effort with the volunteers, committee and the public.

“The run up to Remembrance Day is a lot of work and I want to thank everyone of the committee and volunteers.

“It is a record amount, particularly for this time of the year, when we still have another 11 months of the appeal to go.”

The appeal year runs between October 1 and the same date the following year.

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Mr Jones also expressed his thanks to the many local businesses from Rogerstone, Pontymister, Risca, Ty-Sign and Crosskeys who displayed collection boxes.

“Howards the butchers in Risca has raised £865 this year with the poppies for the lampposts and badges," he said.

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(The poppies on the lampposts are just one way money has been raised for the Poppy Appeal)

“A huge thank you also has to go to the community for their generous donations. The money will help the past, present and future members of the armed forces to help give them the care that they may need now or in the future.”

Mr Jones also paid tribute to the dedication of his predecessor Steve Veysey. Mr Veysey stepped down from the role at the end of the last Poppy Appeal campaign after four years.

“Steve deserves a lot of praise for what he has done over the last four years," said Mr Jones. "Since September 2014 when he started as Poppy Appeal organiser for the area, he has raised a fantastic £106,886 for the cause.

“He has put a lot of time and effort into his fundraising and without his constant efforts behind the scenes, as well as in the public, we wouldn’t be where we are now.”

There will be more events held across the next 11 months to continue the Poppy Appeal fundraising.

The Risca Branch of the Royal British Legion meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm in the Risca Workingmen’s Branch Club. New members are welcome to join, whether they are current or former military personnel or not.