ALL eyes will be on Basingstoke on Friday when the town hosts the region's official Poppy Appeal launch.

The town was plucked from a list of cities and towns across Hampshire hoping to host the 2004 regional launch, because of the fantastic amount of cash it raised for last year's appeal.

Celebrity gardener and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire Alan Titchmarsh will launch the appeal in Festival Place in front of civic leaders from across the county.

Standard bearers from many of the county's Royal British Legion branches, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire Mary Fagan, Basingstoke MP Andrew Hunter and the Bishop of Basingstoke, the Right Reverend Trevor Willmott will also be there.

Pauline Parsons, joint Poppy Appeal organiser for the Basingstoke and Overton branch of the Royal British Legion, said the district raised close to £32,000 in 2003, and was hoping to top that this year.

Mrs Parsons said: "We have 1,200 collection boxes in factories, shops, cinemas, pubs and clubs, as well as a stall outside the management suite offices.

"We will also have at least six people collecting in the shopping centre for two weeks from October 30."

To mark Friday's launch, a procession of standard bearers will start from the shopping centre at about 10.15am, where up to five military Second World War vehicles will be on show.

The bearers will march through the lower level of the centre and up to Porchester Square for a service at 11am.

See The Gazette on Friday for a special Poppy Appeal focus.