POPPY appeal organisers will ignore health and safety advice which bans collectors from pinning poppies on people.

And Brian Barnes, poppy organiser for Blackburn, has branded the orders from the charity's headquarters "crazy".

Mr Barnes, who has sold poppies in the town for the last five years, said: "I don't know what this country's coming to.

"We've been pinning poppies on people for 50 years and more. Why should we stop now?"

And he was joined by Len Myerscough, chairman of the Great Harwood branch of the British Legion, who said they would also be carrying on as normal.

He added: "It's taking things to the extreme. I think it's ridiculous. It's health and safety gone mad.

"We sell them in the Co-op and there are little old ladies who can't use their fingers.

"We just have to apologise and say we're not allowed to pin the poppies on them."

Volunteers have been advised not to pin poppies onto people in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday in case they hurt them.

Simon Home, facilities services manager at the Poppy Appeal, the charity run on behalf of the Royal British Legion, explained the matter had been brought to light two years ago because of an increase in the compensation culture.

And that has led to sellers being told just to safely hand over the poppies and pins rather than fix them into position.

He said: "I dare say at one time collectors used to pin them on people but our advice is just to hand them out.

"There is no question of the pins being banned or the Royal British Legion ordering people not to issue pins at all.

"There are potential dangers if somebody goes about it in a cack-handed way.

"We wouldn't want to prick someone or damage their clothing."

And he said so far he had received no accident reports from the 5,000 organisers and 300,000 poppy sellers across the country.

Roy Lockwood, chairman of the Oswaldtswistle and Church branch of the British Legion, said he understood the concerns and believed it was simply a matter of common sense.

He said: "I've stood in supermarkets for a number of years and we usually end up having a laugh about it but there are people who can be a bit tetchy so you've got to be careful.

"I've personally never had a problem but I have heard of incidents in the past."

Dr Malcolm Ridgway, GP at Roman Road Health Centre, Fishmoor Drive, Blackburn, said: "Pinning anything on can cause an injury though this would only be slight and unlikely to be significant.

"However, in the compensation culture in which we live, over-reactions of this kind are likely to get more common. We only have ourselves to blame."

A Royal British Legion spokesman said: "We make pins available and people can help themselves. We don't normally pin them unless people ask."