A veteran selling poppies ahead of Remembrance Sunday said he was shocked to be told he and his fellow fundraisers had to be moved on.

John Keenan, 48, was at Borehamwood Shopping Park on Saturday with children from the Cadets and Royal Artillery when a security guard told him the landowners had asked for them to leave.

However, property manager for the site, Savills, has apologised for the incident.

Mr Keenan, who is a former Royal Green Jacket having served in 1987, was raising money for the Poppy Appeal.

He said he couldn’t believe it when he was asked to leave.

He said: “I was in charge of safety of the kids who were raising money when the security guard came over. I could tell he didn’t want to say what he was about to say but he said we had to leave.

“I thought it was a joke. It shocked me to the core. It took a while for it to sink in but then I thought this is really wrong and I had to tell people.”

Borehamwood Times:

Mr Keenan, who was with his two adopted children, says all of the children at the shopping park were behaving and weren’t running around.

He added: “I am a proud man. I don’t care if it is one year or 100 years. We are raising money for the fallen. If you can’t have pride in your country, there is no hope.”

Mr Keenan, who has received several commendations in the past, both in service and domestically, including when he saved a man from a flat fire in Torworth Road, Borehamwood, acknowledges they didn’t ask for permission but said this was about “morals” and not “political correctness”.

He said: “If this is a rule, it’s absolute disgusting. We live in Britain. The poppy represents every death of those who served our country.”

When he shared his experience on social media, people expressed their outrage and threatened to “boycott” the shopping park. Other called for the landowners to make a donation to the poppy appeal.

Borehamwood Times:

Samantha Woods, who lives in Elstree, said: “We need to teach our children that it is not wrong to remember those that have sacrificed their lives for us. Kids get a hard time these days and when they do things that are good they should be praised for it not sent away.”

Borehamwood Times:

People threatened to boycott Borehamwood Shopping Park. Many shops at the site were fundraising themselves for the Royal British Legion

In a statement, Savills, property manager of Borehamwood Shopping Park said it will be looking to make a donation.

A spokeswoman said: “Savills regrets having to ask the sellers to leave the site. The firm is in strong support of Armistice Day and of any charity selling poppies to raise awareness of this significant day.

“Unfortunately, the sellers had not cleared requirements to be on the premises which sadly means they were asked to leave in order to satisfy health and safety regulations.

“We are sincerely sorry for this unfortunate situation and are in the process of contacting the charity to discuss a donation and to welcome them back onsite next year.”