IF you come across a poppy seller outside Tesco in Taunton this weekend, you'd be advised to put some coins in his tin.

Stan Tooze, aged 94, will be outside the store in Wellington Road on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

And as in previous years, he'll be wearing his Parachute regiment berry and Airborne division tie.

Mr Tooze, who was born and brought up in Rockwell Green, but has lived in Taunton most of his life, said: "I've jokingly told my daughter people had better cough up or else I'll trip them up.

"I enjoy selling the poppies to raise money for the Royal British Legion (RBL) and it's important we remember the people who made the ultimate sacrifice for us."

Mr Tooze, a retired builder, was conscripted into the artillery during the Second World War before volunteering to join the Paras.

He was with the 6th Airborne Division that parachuted into the Ardennes and made their way in tanks up to the Baltic coast as the Nazi reign of terror was on its last legs.

"It was scary in Germany when we had shells exploding above our heads and one one occasion one shell got pretty close and singed my face.

Mr Tooze, a widower who lives in Nunsfield Court, is the last remaining member of the Somerset Parachute Regimental Association to have seen active service in the Second World War.

He received the RBL legion of honour last year in recognition of his years of poppy selling and has represented the Somerset Paratroop Regiment on a number of occasions presenting the wreath at Remembrance Day services in Taunton's Vivary Park.