SAS hero Andy McNab backs the Sun’s Pounds for Poppies appeal

SAS hero Andy McNab believes our Pounds for Poppies appeal deserves top honours.

Andy, who led the Bravo Two Zero patrol behind enemy lines in Iraq in the First Gulf War in 1991, said: “What a brilliant idea to raise money to help armed forces veterans and their families through hard times.

“Instead of trooping down to the bank with your old pound coins, you can just pop them in a British Legion collecting tin near where you live.”

Andy, who was a sergeant in 22 SAS Regiment and is now a best-selling author, met ex-Royal Marine Commando Harris Tatakis to show why you should back our appeal.

In 2007 Harris was blown up in Afghanistan when his Land Rover drove over a Taliban bomb.

He was left with a shattered left leg, shin and ankle, and a broken right foot. He also ruptured his eardrums and caused brain damage.

He now suffers from tinnitus, the sympton being ringing in his ears.

Harris, medically discharged in 2011, said: “Because it’s unseen, tinnitus doesn’t get the attention it warrants. But of all my injuries, it has affected me most.”

Thanks to the British Legion, Harris, 39, from Cornwall, is the first veteran in the UK to receive the revolutionary Levo treatment, which uses iPod technology to calm his tinnitus while he sleeps. He said: “It’s given my life back to me.”

From now until Remembrance Sunday on November 12, more than 150,000 poppy sellers around the UK will gladly accept your old pound coins, which ceased to be legal tender last Monday.