The campaigners waved placards outside the Spring Gardens branch of The Derbyshire, calling for an end to the financial nightmare which has left them massively out of pocket.

They, along with thousands of other savers, held accounts with an Isle of Man-based subsidiary, Derbyshire Offshore.

This was sold in 2007 to Kaupthing Isle of Man, a subsidiary of Icelandic bank Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander, which later became a victim of the credit crunch.

Organiser of the protest, the Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man Depositers Action Group, is supporting ex-Derbyshire offshore depositors.

Many believed Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander were offering the same guarantees as Derbyshire Offshore.

Marcus Lane-Jones, who currently lives and works in Botswana, travelled back over to the UK to take part in the demonstration.

"I stand to lose a major proportion of precious life savings due to the lack of due diligence exercised when the Derbyshire sold its offshore arm to Kaupthing, Singer & Friedlander (Isle of Man), which subsequently collapsed," he said.

"My wife and I, having already been severe victims of the Equitable Life disaster, are so distressed and have been beside ourselves with worry.

"Once again the financial regulators have let us down, and for me, at age 60, I'm too old to recover my losses."

Investors have since applied to have some of their money repaid, either by way of a one-off £50,000 payment or 24.8p for every pound invested.

In a statement, Derbyshire Building Society said: "Arising from the well-publicised problems in the Icelandic banking sector, customers of Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander (Isle of Man) Ltd have been affected. This company incorporates Derbyshire Building Society's former offshore business Derbyshire Offshore, the trading name of The Derbyshire Isle of Man Ltd (TDIOM).

"In December 2007, Derbyshire Building Society made a considered decision in good faith to sell TDIOM to Kaupthing. This transaction received the requisite regulatory approvals from the Icelandic and Isle of Man authorities. TDIOM was sold by the Derbyshire to Kaupthing Bank hf in December 2007.

"The parental guarantee previously provided to TDIOM customers by Derbyshire Building Society was replaced with a parental guarantee from Kaupthing Bank hf at the time of sale. As such, Nationwide, as the Derbyshire's successor, has no further responsibility for the company (which currently exists as Kaupthing in the Isle of Man) or its liabilities.

"Since the financial crisis began, Nationwide has worked closely with the regulatory authorities in the UK to secure a positive solution for all customers who may be adversely affected and it will continue to do so."