A STRIKING 6ft tall Poppy Man has been deployed in Oxfordshire to encourage people to support ex-servicemen and women.

The life-size figure, made of chicken wire and covered in poppies, is the original Poppy Man which was flown to Basra, in Iraq, to launch the 2008 Poppy Appeal.

Now he is standing tall at the Central Hair and Barbers shop, in Oxford Road, Kidlington, owned by Norman Davies, pictured, and is already drawing donations.

Peter Boyle, the Royal British Legion’s community fundraiser for Oxfordshire, said: “There are about six poppy men throughout the country, but this one is the original.

“He’s been a guest in our Thame office for the past year and he needed a bit of sprucing up before he went to Kidlington. From a distance he looks quite lifelike.”

Stan White, the chairman of the Kidlington branch of the RBL, hopes “Bob” – as salon staff have named him – will help beat the £16,000 raised in the village last year.

Mr White, 77, of Cherwell Avenue, said: “People are stopping to look at it and they’re talking about it.

“The Poppy Appeal is becoming more important, because the legion is getting smaller. Anyone who was in the Second World War is now in their 80s, so we’re losing members.”

Mr Davies was cutting Mr White’s hair earlier this year when he came up with the idea of promoting the campaign in his shop window. He said: “Last year I had a poppy box and we raised about £12.

“It’s creating a lot of interest. So far, we’ve raised about £40 or £50.”