THE future of pensioner rock band The Zimmers has been secured thanks to strong album sales.

The band, who shot to fame last year with a cover version of the Who's My Generation, includes Derbyshire's 100-year-old Winifred Warburton and Peter Oakley.

They were brought together for a BBC documentary about pensioners' rights

Producer and band manager Neil Reed had been funding the band from his own pocket and was running out of money.

But he estimated the 13-track Lust For Life album had sold about 6,000 copies in the UK and Europe, and about 12,000 internet downloads.

He said: "We're not here to compete with Oasis, it's a different business from that but we need to be self-funding. With the money we've raised we can stay together for another year so we're very happy."