Poppyscotland boosts coffers by £3m

SCOTLAND'S armed forces charity Poppyscotland is to merge with its sister organisations to form the largest services charity in the UK.

The charity will retain its brand name north of the Border and benefit from a new alliance with The Royal British Legion (TRBL) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by an additional investment of 3 million over the next three years.

Ian McGregor, Poppyscotland chief executive, said: "It became clear that despite a 50 per cent increase in income from the Scottish Poppy Appeal in the past five years, and a corresponding increase in the support Poppyscotland has been able to provide, our resource levels still limit what we can achieve.

"Veterans here have not been able to access the same optimal level of support as their counterparts elsewhere in the UK and the merger will go a long way to addressing this."