POPPY Appeal organisers in St Neots have appealed for more volunteers to help them expand their fundraising for 2012.

This year collectors will be allowed to hold a stall at St Neots train station for the first time as well as sell poppies at Tesco and in St Neots High Street in a bid to beat their �17,326.24 takings from 2011.

T L Cobbold Funeral Directors, which took over organising the collection last year, will also deliver collection boxes to schools and businesses across the town and embark on door-to-door selling.

However says it needs desperately volunteers on the ground in order to keep up with the fundraising demand.

“The problem is not raising money,” said Andrea Marr from T L Cobbold.

“The general public are always incredibly generous with what they donate, as the staggering amount from last year shows.

“We desperately need volunteers to come forward. The fact the train station has given us the opportunity to be there means we need people on the ground to take that chance.”

Volunteers will do two-hour shifts on stalls between 10am and 4pm when collections start on October 17.

However the teams carry so much money that Ms Marr said it was often better for people to part of a group.

“It is just about being involved in something in the community,” she said.

“Our volunteers get overwhelmed by the generosity of the general public. It is a charity that can get forgotten and is not necessarily high profile apart from a couple of weeks of the year.”

The St Neots Poppy Appeal will be launched with a concert by the Royal Naval Association at the Priory Centre on October 20.

T L Cobbold is also holding a coffee evening at its New Street premises between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on Wednesday, October 17 to talk about this year’s appeal.

INFORMATION: To volunteer, visit the coffee evening or contact T L Cobbold on 01480 476136 or email info@tlcobbold.co.uk.