Repairs to the ‘iconic’ Mwnt church have been completed after a spate of vandalism earlier this year.

The Holy Cross Church - or Eglwys y Grôg - on the cliffs in the tiny Ceredigion hamlet is the oldest in the county.

But in January it made national headlines after it saw its windows smashed, gate broken and historically-significant interior damaged.

But the church warden Maggie Hughes says thanks to the generosity of donations – which came from all over the world – the renovations can go further.

The windows, gate and the donation box have been repaired with the help of special architects from the Saint David’s diocese.

The church will also now be able to clean all of its pews and whitewash the walls – while treating the insides for damp and reinforcing the roof and flooring.

Ceredigion county councillor for Aberporth and Y Ferwig, Clive Davies, is hoping the extra repairs will be completed in January.

Crowdfunding efforts smashed the £20,000 target in just a few days and raised a further £11,000 which will now be used for extra renovations.

Cllr Davies says the church holds a special place in his heart with plaques in honour of his great-grandparents standing by the altar.

The Plaid Cymru councillor, who started the fundraiser, told the Cambrian News: “I’m pleased we’ve managed to do all the repairs after the money was raised and we can go further than expected.

“We can now secure the long-term future of the church with all the additional repairs.

“It’s such a popular church for weddings and events.

“It’s part of the fabric of our community and people come from all over the world to visit it.

“You can see that by looking at the visitor book.

“The fundraising was so popular, it attracted donations from all over the world - including the US and Australia.

“The word iconic is overused but the church is well known by a lot of people - and people have stories to share about it.

“We’re thinking of putting all the lovely stories shared on the donations page up on the walls somewhere in the church once works are complete.”

He said the picturesque 14th Century church - which hasn’t been renovated for decades - sees more than 30,000 visitors every year and attracts worshippers, photographers and historians.

Weddings are now being held at the church again while a charity concert originally intended to raise money for repairs went ahead in aid of a cancer charity instead.

Following the incident, Wales’s four police forces linked up with heritage bodies including the Royal Commission to drive down so-called ‘heritage crime’ - warning the public that once sites of special significance are gone, they cannot be returned.

The Cambrian News recently reported on a string of suspected thefts of ‘irreplaceable’ stones at Grade-I listed National Trust estate Llanerchaeron near Aberaeron.