THIS year's Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in Swindon raised a record-breaking £25,000.

After the Evening Advertiser publicised the collectors' need to store thousands of poppies, collecting tins and wreaths, organiser Alan Baker said the support given to the appeal by local people had been tremendous.

"I am absolutely over the moon with the result," he said.

And the man who has organised the appeal in Swindon for the past 10 years is already planning to set a new record next year.

When Alan first took over the appeal it raised about £10,000, and the total has increased steadily up to the £23,500 collected last year and now £25,000.

The Legion is currently allowed to carry out public collections over four days, including Remembrance Sunday, but Alan will be asking Swindon Council to increase the number of days next year.

"I am confident that if the council allows this, there is then potential to collect quite a lot more," he said.

This year thieves took three of the collecting tins, and Alan believes this may have had a knock-on effect, with some collectors reluctant to put out their tins in the most prominent position because they feared they would be stolen.

"But overall the people of Swindon deserve a very big pat on the back for their continued support.

"The younger people and the schools in particular did us proud this year and I would like to thank them, together with the old comrades' associations and other people who helped man our stalls."

Old soldier Gordon Moore, 88, who lives at Wroughton, collected £4,787 at his patch outside Marks and Spencer in the town centre.

All the money collected in Swindon is automatically sent to the headquarters of the RBL, where it is used to help ex-service personnel and their dependants.