Nearly £30,000 has been raised in just a few days after an iconic Welsh chapel was smashed open in a "senseless" act of vandalism.
Eglwys y Grog, or Church of the Holy Cross, is perched on the cliffs above the secluded cove of Mwnt in Ceredigion, which is visited by tens of thousands of people every year.
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But on two separate occasions in December, vandals rampaged through the church, smashing all of the windows and tearing down the concrete pillar that contained the donations box.
There was nothing of any value whatsoever to encourage such a crime, said Ceredigion county councillor Clive Davies, who was "totally blown away" by the donations received.
There's been no shortage of people willing to donate to the restoration fund, with donations coming from countries as far as America and Australia. Mr Davies is expecting the fund, which was at £26,400 just days after starting, to exceed £30,000.
The Grade I listed building dating probably from the 13th century was targeted overnight on December 2 and again on December 20 in "a pointless, saddening act".
"I don't understand why they came back," Mr Davies said. "There's no rhyme or reason why anyone would want to do that, especially over Christmas. There was no money there, just a small little church."
Seeing the money come pouring in to help build the church back to its former glory has been "heart warming", said Mr Davies. People have volunteered their time and skills too, including roofers and window specialists.
"There are a lot of good people out there and it is an amazing start to 2022 for us," added Mr Davies, who set up a JustGiving page for the church members after they started getting a lot of requests to donate money.
The leaded church windows and gated entrance were damaged along with the inside of the church. Had it not been for the coronavirus restrictions, the church would have held midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
As well as being the local councillor, Mr Davies said he had long-standing family connections to the church, with plaques to his great-grandparents on either side of the altar.
"The spread on social media has been amazing," he added. "It just snowballed and has been really heart-warming to see."
He said it was important for the church to remain open, but safe. Any money left over from the restoration fund could be used to install extra security measures. Mr Davies is eager to see the church left open through the summer to enable people to enjoy its beauty and find solace within, he said.
"I'll be meeting with the church members and the vicar and we'll start discussing what needs doing, but also we're going to have to look at safety for the future and what could we do in terms of security," he added.
The target of £20,000 was set when the appeal opened on January 1. You can donate here.
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