A new site is needed for a Royal British Legion (RBL) fund-raiser which has swelled the charity's North Walsham branch coffers by many thousands of pounds over a 20-year period.

At the end of the year RBL stalwarts Bill and Elsie Nash, who have been active members of the charity for more than half a century, will stop hosting a waste-paper skip on their family farm at Meeting Hill, near Worstead.

Proceeds from selling the donated waste paper and card have risen to about �2,000 in recent years which has been split between the North Walsham and District RBL and its women's section.

But the couple, both 88, say their son Trevor needs to build a farm roadway through the skip site and they also no longer feel able to shoulder the responsibility of overseeing the skip.

For many years, until ill health forced him to stop, Mr Nash was a well-known sight as he drove a small truck, with his pet dog as front-seat passenger, collecting waste from businesses all over the North Walsham area.

In more recent years tradespeople and householders have driven their unwanted card and paper to the skip site and put it inside themselves.

Mr and Mrs Nash both served in the forces during the second world war. Mr Nash was a paratrooper who landed in Burma by glider, and Mrs Nash belonged to the ATS.

She is a past national chairman of the RBL's women's section, gaining the OBE for her work in 1991. She stepped down last year as county president but remains branch chairman.

Mr Nash is a former chairman and president of the RBL branch, and a former county treasurer.

'The legion has been our lives,' said Mrs Nash. 'When we first had the skip, we got �5 a tonne but now we get �47 a tonne so it's been very worthwhile.'

It had also saved some businesses money as they didn't have to pay for the waste to be taken away and knew they were supporting a good cause.

The skip had been provided for free over the years by waste paper suppliers MW White, based near Wymondham.

'We want to thank everyone who has supported us - the legion will miss the money,' Mrs Nash added.

Colin Chambers, current North Walsham RBL branch chairman, said Mr and Mrs Nash had provided a very useful service, with proceeds going to the Poppy Appeal.

'If someone else is out there who could provide a site in the North Walsham area we could carry on,' he said.

? The Meeting Hill skip will close on December 31. For more information contact Mr Chambers on 01692 406501.