A DISABLED former soldier fears Middlewich’s Poppy Appeal is in jeopardy.

Phillip Shales, of Kitfield Avenue, claimed that Tesco in Southway had slashed the number of days that money can be raised after he received a phone call from the store’s head office.

He alleges that the Middlewich supermarket will only allow the British Legion to collect donations for those who have risked and lost their lives in conflicts between November 7 and 9.

Fundraisers had a previous arrangement with the former Somerfield store, which allowed them to raise money for three weeks in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday.

Mr Shales, who did three tours of Northern Ireland when he was a soldier, said: “Every week, our men are coming home blown-up, limbless and blind.

“They need all the help they can and Tesco is cutting the takings down.

“I’m horrified because these lads are fighting for them but they don’t want to support us.”

But David Nielberg, press officer for Tesco, refuted the claims.

He told the Guardian that the three dates mentioned to Mr Shales are just the days that people can raise money exclusively for the Poppy Appeal.

Mr Nielberg says that British Legion fundraisers are welcome in store every day in the two week run-up to Remembrance Day.

Mr Shales is not a member of the British Legion but every year he raises money for the Poppy Appeal wearing his medals, his father’s medals and his veteran badge that he received from the Queen.

The 58-year-old was first posted in Londonderry in 1969. He was caught up in the riots and was set on fire by a petrol bomb at the age of just 17.

In 1970, Mr Shales was stationed in West Berlin behind the Iron Curtain and then he served in Belfast in 1973.

Injuries during his service meant that Mr Shales eventually needed a wheelchair.

He added: “I’ve got my wheelchair but if you can’t sell the Poppies these lads may have to wait.

“But this isn’t about me, it’s about everyone else. We’re doing this for soldiers coming home and those who served in past decades.”

Mr Shales also alleges that Tesco will only allow the Poppy Appeal fundraisers to collect donations in the outhouse area of the Southway store.

The former soldier said: “The weathers changing and people in their 70s, 80s and 90s are collecting. When both doors are open it blows a gale.

“You could understand if it was a new store but we’ve been doing this as status quo for years.

“It’s like someone saying you’re not doing the Rose Fete anymore.”

But Mr Nielberg said that people collecting donations can use the main area of the supermarket.

Mr Nielberg said: “Our staff are supporting this as much as everyone else. We get calls like this every year, it’s a case of Chinese whispers.”