People in Otley raised more than £14,000 for the 2011 Poppy Appeal – up 30 per cent on the previous year.

The Otley branch of the Royal British Legion has thanked residents for their support in the last year.

Branch secretary Doris Gagen said she was overwhelmed by the response, but thinks she knows the reason why people have been particularly generous.

She said: “I think the main reason for it is that young people are getting more and more involved in the legion’s work, because they see, with the continuing loss of British soldiers’ lives in Afghanistan, that what we do isn’t just about the past, but what’s happening now.”

Preparations are already under way for the 2012 poppy appeal, which will be the Otley branch’s 90th.