Golden Poppy for three people from Cumbria for their charity service

The Golden Poppy has been awarded to three people from Keswick Credit: ITV Border

Three Royal British Legion volunteers have been given the highly coveted Golden Poppy Award for their life's work fundraising.

It's a huge honour, only awarded to around 30 people a year, the most prestigious award the Royal British Legion gives.General James Bashall, national President of the Royal British Legion, said: "It's very prestigious. It's the top that the Legion gives to mark people's service. 40/50 years of commitment both with the Poppy Appeal and also with service in the branches and the county so it's a very important award.

"Probably sort of 30 a year, really not very many at all, across a Legion that's over 200,000-strong so it's a very top award."

General Bashall presented them to Bill Richardson, of Keswick, and William Hall of Ullock.

A posthumous award was also given to Jim Newstead, known in Keswick as 'The Poppy Man'. He'd be out every day in the run up to Remembrance Sunday.

His enthusiasm was infectious and he raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity 'because nobody could say no to him'. Crowds turned out to clap as his coffin passed through Keswick last year.