The people of Wrexham have been thanked for raising a bumper sum for this year’s Poppy Appeal.

The total raised by the town this year was £68,000 – although North Wales community fundraiser Kevin Forbes said that more donations would undoubtedly follow.

He added: “The Poppy Appeal again showed how generous people can be with their time. It is delightful to work with a group of people whose attitude is ‘of course it can be done’.

“It also continues to show the generosity of the people of Wrexham supporting such a great cause.”

Mr Forbes told how the Royal British Legion’s appeal is supported by individuals, voluntary groups and the major supermarkets, which generate 60 per cent of donations.

He added: “Now Sainsburys, Tesco and Morrisons have a national agreement to count and bank the collections taken in their stores.

“In addition all of the supermarkets have increased the time allocated to Poppy Appeal with a whole fortnight being very common. We thank them for their continued cooperation.

“This has been a significant change over the past five years. The overall effect has been a continuous rolling programme of volunteer staffed poppy stalls in Aldi, ASDA, Morrisons, Sainsburys and Tesco with each supermarket having its own dedicated poppy organiser.

“DTCC and Thompson Reuters, companies based on the industrial estate provided staff to the man the two Aldi stores in town – with subsequent match funding. Other companies are invited to follow this innovative lead.”

North Wales community fundraiser Mr Forbes also hailed the work done by volunteers, including Comrades Associations, Rotary groups, Inner Wheel Church groups, Officer Training Corps, Cadets, students and the general public.

“Volunteers are our most valuable resource. We simply could not raise this phenomenal amount of money without them,” he said.

“Young people are brilliant supporters of the appeal. Students and cadets collected in the town centre over the two weekends of the appeal and raised more than £3,000 on the streets of Wrexham. Starbucks, Café Nero and Costa supported them by offering free tea and coffee to those on the streets.”

The town was decorated as usual with poppies on lampposts along the five main arterial routes, and this year the Guildhall was resplendent with poppies across the balcony.

The 2016 Poppy Appeal smashed all records at £46m and it looks as if the 2017 campaign will be just as successful.

Planning has started for next year’s appeal and anyone interested in volunteering can call 0808 802 8080.