ORGANISERS of this year’s Poppy Appeal are pinning their fundraising hopes on a unique Blackburn Rovers shirt.

The Royal British Legion is raffling a Rovers shirt from November 2003, which has a commemorative poppy stitched on the front. The yellow away shirt was worn in a defeat against Leicester City.

Des Owen, who heads the organising committee with wife Phylis, said they had already sold more than 300 tickets.

The shirt was donated to Blackburn RBL by a former soldier from the Mill Hill area and will be raffled on November 15 at Uncle Jack’s pub, Lower Darwen.