A LANDLORD has criticised a “ridiculous” rule which meant a poppy collection box in his pub was removed by officials two days BEFORE Armistice Day.

Ian Goodman, who runs the Cock Tavern in Ongar High Street, said he was stunned when he was ordered to remove a donations container from his bar because of strict regulations laid down by the national headquarters of Royal British Legion.

A member of the organisation told him they had to take it away because it had been in his pub for longer than 14 days.

He said: “It's absolutely ridiculous.

“I had at least half a dozen people wanting to buy poppies in the evening before Remembrance Day and I'm sure there would have been more looking for the box.

“The legion has missed out on some money and if you amplify that across the country just think how much they could be losing because of this rule.

“I think the legion are a great organisation and they do great work but I would have thought someone could have a little common sense in this case. I don't blame the local branch for it, they have to stick to the rules.

“One of my customers said Tesco in Ongar took away their poppy collection on the night before Remembrance Sunday, so it's not just happened here.”

Peter Richards, the secretary of the High Ongar branch of the legion, told the Guardian all branches had to abide by the rules from head office, but would not comment further.

A spokesman for the British Legion's national headquarters said they would not bend its rules if a container had been out for longer than 14 days.

He said: “We can't just leave tins in shops, bars and offices for months and months at a time. At some point we need to collect that money in.

“We collect them in after two weeks and that's all I can assume has happened in this case.

“In some situations they might have been collected early but that's down to manning."