A crowdfunding campaign following the theft of gardening equipment from Moira Furnace & Country Park has raised over £1,000 in two weeks.

The visitor attraction near Ashby had a container broken into last month and posted an appeal along with photos and details of the items that had been taken.

Now, Moira Furnace officials appear to be closer to retrieving the equipment - the cost of which was £4,000.

They claim the items - which included trimmers, a lawnmower, a chainsaw and a generator - have been offered, cut-price, in the Swadlincote area.

Now they want the thieves to return the equipment, and say the money raised so far will be used to improve security measures.

A social media post reads: "Two weeks on from setting up our GoFundMe campaign to raise the money to replace our stolen gardening equipment and we are at a whopping £1,171!

"We cannot thank you all enough. This is amazing.

"If you can help by donating, even just £5, that would make a massive difference.

Some of the £4,000 worth equipment that was stolen in last month's theft

"However, we know the equipment is still in the area, Swadlincote to be precise.

"The police have some leads they are following up and feel it is only a matter of time, but, if you know anything, have been offered these bits of equipment, please, please, let us know or report it to 101.

"We just want this equipment back! If you have these and are reading this, we ask you to do the right thing, return the items.

"They are reported stolen with the manufacturer, we have all the serial numbers and you do not have the batteries.

"We know they are being offered to people for £500, an eighth of what they are worth, but is it really worth it?

"We are a charity whose only focus is to preserve this beautiful slice of industrial heritage and its surroundings for current and future generations and this is being made a lot harder without this equipment. We ask you to do the right thing.

"If we do get this equipment back, we will be investing all the money raised into increasing security and improving the site for our wonderful community of visitors, both regular ones and those who just enjoy the occasional day out.

"Once again, thank you to everyone who is helping out and donating and keep sharing this with everyone you know and spreading the word."