Dedicated Royal British Legion volunteers were welcomed to a reception at No 10 Downing Street in recognition of their work supporting Stockton's Armed Forces veterans.

Stockton South MP Matt Vickers welcomed Lin and Rob Simpson to Parliament for a tour, followed by the reception hosted by Johnny Mercer, Minister for Veteran Affairs.

Mr Simpson is the chairman of Stockton and Yarm’s branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL), whilst Mrs Simpson is the secretary.

Read more: Fundraiser launched after mum-of-five 'loses everything' in devastating fire

The pair also take on the responsibility of the annual Poppy Appeal working with a team of volunteers to raise a huge amount of money.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Matt Vickers, left, welcomed Lin and Rob Simpson to Parliament for an event hosted by Veterans

Mr Vickers invited them to Parliament after hearing they had raised a record breaking amount, collecting more than £100,000 for the local branch of the RBL.

“This was a fantastic event which provided an opportunity to say thank you to some of the volunteers in our veteran sector," said Mr Vickers.

Read more: Hundreds of children attend annual school sports festival

“I’m grateful to have welcomed Lin and Rob to Parliament, and hope they enjoyed their visit. The pair are complete inspirations and I wish them the best of luck with all future efforts.

“Not only do these volunteers perform outstanding fundraising efforts, but they also bring awareness to issues faced by our veterans.

“They were very keen to tell me that it’s not just them but a whole team of volunteers who work incredibly hard to deliver this life changing work."

The event was coordinated to honour the thousands of people who work in the veteran’s voluntary sector across the UK.