Celebrities have called for public support to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the Royal Wootton Bassett’s royal patronage with a Forever Poppy replacement sculpture.

The town received the title in October 2011 in recognition of the role it played during the repatriation of UK military personnel from Afghanistan and Iraq.

A marble memorial called the Forever Poppy to commemorate the fallen was installed but collapsed in 2017. A committee was formed to raise almost £300,000 for a new poppy and their cause has attracted DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles, presenter and co-founder of Soccer Aid, Jonathan Wilkes, and former professional darts player Bob Anderson.

Led by town councillor Tom Patterson, the committee has secured the services of sculptor Stephen Pettifer to create the statue. Coun Patterson said: “We are determined to raise the funding to have the replacement poppy in place to commemorate the town’s 10-year anniversary of its Royal patronage.

“Unfortunately, our grassroots campaign of getting support via donation tins in local businesses has been dramatically affected by the pandemic. We are asking people across the country to please help us turn our goal into a reality.”

So far the online appeal has raised just over £1,000.

To donate visit gofundme.com/f/royal-wootton-bassett-poppy