More than £1 million has been raised towards a plan to redevelop the site of Keswick's former pencil factory.

Keswick Ministries, which runs the town's annual Christian convention, is trying to raise £5m to turn the site into a new base for its events.

The charity launched the Derwent Project in July.

The site has been bought on behalf of the charity by a trust.

Keswick Ministries needs to raised the £3m to repay the trust, along with an anticipated £2m to transform the site.

The money so far has come from a combination of one-off donations and ongoing pledges.

The support already received will help the charity as it bids for money from major donors and trust funds.

Keswick Ministries hopes the new site will become not only a home for the annual convention but a resource centre to benefit churches across Cumbria and beyond.

The project is also intended to benefit the town, providing a venue that can be used by local organisations and can host large conferences and events.

The pencil factory building is next to the charity's Rawnsley site, where some of its activities already take place.

Keswick Convention attracts about 12,000 people to the town over three weeks each summer.

The charity plans to move all or most of the event to the new combined site next year.

It is yet to be decided whether some activities will take place there this year.

Jutta Devenish, of Keswick Ministries, said: "We are very encouraged by the support we are getting for the Derwent Project.

"These have come through at various levels of giving, from standing orders of £10 to large major donor contributions of several tens of thousands pounds. It's truly exciting."

Both the factory and Rawnsley sites were affected by the recent flooding.

Donations have been made to help cover the cost of the clean up and the charity is confident it will be able to raise all the money needed.

The charity is in talks with organisations such as the Environment Agency regarding flood defences.