SHOPPERS in Burnham-on-Sea have helped a charity bag £4,000 of funding to support injured and sick veterans and get them into work.

Customers at Tesco gave their backing to The Poppy Factory by voting in the Bags of Help scheme, which distributes grants raised from carrier bag sales.

Members of the public placed their votes in January and February using blue tokens given out at the Tesco Superstore in Ben Travers Way.

The funding will enable The Poppy Factory, which received the Healthcare and Rehabilitation Award at the Soldiering On Awards on April 5, to reach more veterans in the area.

Each year the charity supports around 300 ex-Forces men and women with physical or mental health conditions back into meaningful and sustained employment.

Deirdre Mills, Chief Executive of The Poppy Factory, said:“We are so grateful to everyone in Burnham-on-Sea who showed their support for our wounded, injured and sick veterans by using their tokens to vote for The Poppy Factory in the Bags of Help scheme.

“This important funding will go directly to our employability programme, helping us support many more ex-Forces men and women who want to flourish in new jobs and careers, no matter what health conditions and other barriers they may face.”

Tesco’s Bags of Help project has already delivered more than £63 million to more than 20,000 projects across the UK.

Tesco customers get the chance to vote for three different groups every time they shop and every other month, when votes are collected, three groups in each of Tesco’s regions are awarded funding.

For more information about the Bags of Help scheme visit www.tesco.com/bagsofhelp.