The songwriters of Barrow's charity Christmas single have thanked the town after their original song missed out on the top 100 in the Official UK chart.

Light a Candle was released on December 15 by Band in Dystopia and reached No.5 in the UK iTunes chart two days later and No.40 in the Greece iTunes chart.

Members continued to be astounded throughout the day as they watched the song overtake Wham!, Mariah Carey and Take That.

Wham!'s Last Christmas secured the coveted number 1 spot for the first time, 39 years after its release.

John Renni, one of the Light a Candle singers, said before the final list was revealed: "Being in the Christmas top 40 would be a dream come true however it doesn't really matter now.

"The whole point of this was to raise money for worthy local causes and tell a positive story for Barrow. We've already done that in spades.

"The way the community has come together over this has been incredible. We couldn't have done any more, and we couldn't have asked any more from everyone.

"It was the huge community effort that I imagined.

"We reached No.5 in the UK iTunes chart and No.40 in the Greece iTunes chart - that in itself is a wonderful achievement.

"Thank you and well done to everyone who played their part. The current fundraising total is £2,715.

"We would love to reach that £4,000 target so I'll keep the Just Giving link open until New Year's Day. Please donate whatever you can afford."

The Just Giving amount doesn't just include the money from mp3 downloads but also the funds that will be received from the digital distributor in two to three months time.

That amount is not known at this point however the band is certain it will be a decent chunk based on how people have said they have downloaded.

John added: "Thank you for coming together and supporting your community.

"This town can do great things if we think positive, use our talents positively and collaborate with all the other talented people here.

"That way we can make a difference and change this town for the better.

The group is donating all download proceeds to local charities including Barrow Foodbank, Mind-in-Furness, Furness Homeless Support Group and St Mary's Hospice.

People can still donate to the JustGiving page until New Years day.