The Royal British Legion is calling on the public to use remote and socially-distanced methods to honour the service and sacrifice of all who have served with the British Armed Forces this weekend.

The Remembrance parade in Bridport has been cancelled and services moved online, so the legion is asking the public to play their part from home by participating in personal and remote acts of Remembrance, including standing on their doorstep during the two minute silence and displaying a poppy in their window.

Most of the Remembrance events have been cancelled but the legion has a virtual Field of Remembrance on its website for people to make and view tributes online.

The charity has also issued an urgent plea for people to donate to the Poppy Appeal online this year.

Charles Byrne, the Royal British Legion's director general, said: "This will be the first time in the history of the Poppy Appeal that our volunteers will be unable to carry out face to face collections. The loss of that activity could run into millions of pounds in fundraising which means online donations are crucial, therefore we are asking people to support the Poppy Appeal by donating via the legion's website.

"Every poppy counts, so whether you choose to print off a downloadable poppy from the Legion's website or draw your own, we are calling on everyone across the nations to unite in a UK-wide show of support from home, display a poppy in their window in time for Remembrance Sunday, and pay tribute to our Armed Forces community."

Never before in the charity's history, even throughout the Second World War, have all face to face collections been cancelled, and the loss of vital funds could impact the support the legion provides to hundreds of thousands of members of the Armed Forces community each year. The legion has put contingency plans in place to cover the eventuality of a full lockdown during the Appeal, including its online donation facility, text to donate options, and working with supermarket partners to provide till point donations.

The Royal British Legion's annual Poppy Appeal takes place from October 22 until Armistice Day on November 11.

More information on ways to support the Poppy Appeal can be found at rbl.org.uk