The Royal British Legion's Sandbach branch has announced final figures for its annual collection for the poppy appeal which surpassed £20,000.

This year, the town raised an amazing £23,450.01 during the annual appeal officially launched on 30th October leading up to Armistice Day on November 11th.

Volunteers collect for the appeal throughout town at various venues including Waitrose and Sandbach Services north and south on the M6. This year, a total of 5,845.36 was raised on the M6 at the two service stations.

Here's a recap of events leading up to the big day which started with the launch of the appeal on Saturday 30th by the Royal British Legion Bikers branch,

Crowds gathered around Sandbach War Memorial to watch the historic moment and listen to a short service by Rev Jeff Cuttell, branch chaplain of the Royal British Legion Bikers Branch.

Some of the riders are ex-service personnel but there many more just want to support the Royal British Legion through the Riders Branch.

The event is an annual one and marks the moment the Sandbach area starts collecting for the annual appeal.

Sandbach Mayor joined the Sandbach branch of the Royal British Legion and the Bikers Branch to launch this year's appeal. (Photo: Deborh Bowyer/Sandbach Nub News)

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Rev Cuttell said: "As we launch the 2023 in the midst of yet more world crises, many would remember the sacrifices made by the few for our freedom."

He pointed out that peace and prosperity are not "bought cheaply" and highlighted the 1918 Great War when 38 million civilians and nearly a million soldiers, sailors and airmen, coming from fields and factories, families and farms, lost their lives.

The launch of this year's poppy appeal in Sandbach. (Photo: Deborah Bowyer/Sandbach Nub News)

"More names are added to the ever-rolling stream," he said. "Today we launch our poppy appeal locally with a simple act of remembrance."

The Armistice Day weekend of November 11th was a busy one for Sandbach. The traditional Armistice Day ceremony took place in front of a large crowd at the Cenotaph on The Cobbles as we revealed here on the Sunday, November 12th.

The previous day, November 11th, the traditional Armistice Day event took place at the Cenotaph. It was followed by a special dedication to the memorial bench for the 24-year-old Sandbach soldier, Jordan Gatley, killed in the Ukraine, as we revealed here

Hours of preparation goes into the poppy collection and appeal and Sandbach Nub News thanks all those who not only took part in the collection but also the various events to celebrate Armistice Day and weekend.