Veteran heads out on 10th 'poppy express' mission

Denis Scaife and his wife Barbara have been running the appeal for 10 years now

An armed forces veteran who came up with the idea to sell poppies to passengers on trains is on track to raise more than £15,000 this year.

Denis Scaife, 74, from Retford, came up with the idea of selling poppies on trains 10 years ago and has been doing it every year since.

Mr Scaife and his wife Barbara set off on their latest "poppy express" mission on Wednesday, on the Retford to London service, before they caught another train to Edinburgh, then back to London again before they returned to the Nottinghamshire town.

The couple have been selling poppy related-items, including 3,000 hand-knitted poppies they have been sent from across the country.

'Captive audience'

"People often ask me for a gin and tonic or a cup of tea and I have to disappoint them and tell them I am actually selling poppy merchandise," he said.

"People are very, very generous, I can't believe the generosity of people on board.

"They are great, they thank us for our service, they are so amazed that we are doing it on a train. We have a captive audience standing in the warm, we are not on a cold station or a cold supermarket."

Mr Scaife came up with idea for the poppy express and to his knowledge is the only person collecting money for the Royal British Legion in this way.

He said: "I am not one for having brainwaves - I had one then."

Mr Scaife's initial idea has now grown and he and Mrs Scaife are among 15 volunteers who have been collecting donations up and down the line.

Mrs Scaife, who moved to Germany to live with Mr Scaife at 20 years old after they got married, said: "I have always supported Denis and doing this is one way we can keep together and we do it every year."

The money raised will go towards the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal and Mr Scaife, a former Royal Engineer, said he was happy to help the organisation which provided "so much" support to people who had served in the armed forces.

Stuart Jones, managing director of First Rail Open Access, said he embodied the "very best of community spirit."

"We know that our customers will once again get behind him and show their support," he added.