More than £40,000 raised for Royal British Legion by retired Staffordshire firefighter

A retired firefighter in Staffordshire has raised an incredible £40,000 for the Royal British Legion after bettering his efforts from last year.

Kelvin Chell retired from our service after devoting half a century of his life to local communities in Staffordshire. He has raised more than £500,000 for charities in his lifetime and has been running a yearly campaign to sell poppies around Remembrance Day.

After raising an impressive £14,500 last year, Kelvin went one better and nearly tripled his efforts this year – raising a total of £43,078.

He did it by selling poppies for £3.50 across a number of different locations, with 10 specially-designed poppies included with bespoke Staffordshire designs.

Kelvin said: “It gives me a great sense of pride to be able to give to important causes like this one. I can’t believe how well the poppies have sold this year!

“This sum of money is going to go a long way and it’s a testament to the kindness of local communities in Staffordshire who continue to give to positive causes like the Royal British Legion.”

Earlier this week, Kelvin Chell presented the cheque to representatives from the Royal British Legion alongside Chief Fire Officer Rob Barber.