A Shropshire bus driver is leading a campaign calling for a national Christmas Day tribute to fallen British troops and the serving forces.

More than 220,000 people have backed Steve Paskin’s call for a two-minute silence at noon on December 25 since the group was set up on Facebook just a week ago.

And a video of an interview with Prime Minister Gordon Brown has even been posted indicating his support for the plan.

• See the Facebook site here
• Gordon Brown on Christmas Day Silence call

• Video — click here

Mr Paskin, a bus driver for Arriva in Telford, said so many service personnel had been lost in combat and many others were away from home at Christmas.

He said the sacrifice they made should be recognised by the rest of the country by paying tribute to them on Christmas Day.

The father-of-three, who hopes to pull in 500,000 members by the weekend, said: “We only started the group up around a week ago but it has just gone through the roof, it really has.

“To get 220,000 members in five days is incredible and the statistics show we are getting about 10 new members a second.

“People are joining from all over the world – there are US Marines backing it and a guy from Australia has even set up a carbon copy of the group after seeing it.”

The 44-year-old, who lives in Woodside with wife Wendy and his three sons, said he hoped the massive show of support would force the Government to act.

“I know you have Remembrance Day but it’s not enough,” he said.

“Christmas Day is so important for families and we think a two-minute silence would give a little comfort to families who have actually lost someone close to them.

“It’s not just for people who have died either – I know a lot of soldiers who will be out in Iraq over Christmas and don’t want to be there. They want to be home with their families.”

Mervyn Wynne Jones, spokesman for the MoD in the Midlands, said the idea was a nice gesture.

He said: “The nation remembers its war dead each autumn on Remembrance Sunday, but I’m touched to learn of what this gentleman is suggesting.”

By Jason Lavan