MUSIC-LOVERS have raised almost £1,000 to pay for repairs to a church that was damaged by vandals.

Seven windows were smashed at the restored building inside the Midland Railway Centre complex, in Butterley, before Christmas.

So when the organisers of the Indietracks festival, which takes place at the site every summer, read about the damage they appealed online for donations.

Festival-goers dug deep and have pledged £950, which means the windows' glass and frames can be replaced.

Natalie and Andy Hudson are part of the team who have run Indietracks for the past five years.

Natalie said: "We were really sad to hear about the vandalism at the church from the Derby Telegraph and so we decided to start a fund-raising appeal, asking Indietracks fans for donations towards replacing the windows.

"Thanks to the generosity of our festival-goers we've raised nearly £1,000, which we hope will go a long way towards the repair costs."

Natalie said the church formed an integral part of the Indietracks festival experience for the 1,500 people who attend each year.

It acts as one of the indoor stages where bands and singers from across the world perform.

Last year, former Orange Juice singer Edwyn Collins headlined the weekend event.

Natalie said: "We'd like to say a massive thank-you to everyone who donated to the appeal.

"We're now looking forward to putting on lots of bands on the church stage at Indietracks this year."

The church was rescued from Westhouses, near Alfreton, and rebuilt at the museum in 1997 at a cost of £20,000.

It is a corrugated iron construction known as a "tin tabernacle" and originates from 1898.

On December 5, the windows were targeted in what volunteers called "mindless vandalism."

Alan Calladine, the Midland Railway Trust's development officer, said: "It is absolutely tremendous that this group of music lovers, who have been coming here for more than five years to enjoy themselves, have raised this money for us.

"When we discovered the vandalism last month we were absolutely gutted and really disappointed that someone had come along and done this.

"If they had broken in to take something I could have at least half-understood it but they didn't. It was just mindless vandalism.

"So a gesture like this from such kind-hearted people really does restore my faith in human behaviour and, to me, shows what fantastic people come to enjoy this unique and thoroughly enjoyable festival that we have been fortunate enough to host here in Butterley.

"We can now get on with the repairs thanks to their overwhelming generosity."

Indietracks 2012 takes place at the site from July 6 to 8.

To book tickets or for more information, visit www.indie tracks.co.uk.