Elton John has been forced to scrap an open-air concert in aid of a crumbling church.

The Rocket Man was to play in front of 18,000 people at Goodwood this summer - to raise part of the £1.2 million needed to restore nearby medieval Boxgrove Priory.

His management had agreed to the concert but landowners at the Goodwood Estate have pulled out.

The cancellation has dashed hopes of restoring the 900-year-old church.

Boxgrove Priory Enterprises - the company that runs the church - had been told Elton would play the gig.

Father Ian Forrester said: "The board of directors of Boxgrove Priory Enterprises was emphatically convinced the concert would be profitable.

"But it was not possible, at the final fence, to persuade the Goodwood Estate Company to give us its backing.

"The church's capacity to be a comfortable and welcoming place in which to encounter God and where people can meet and grow in faith and service will be very seriously compromised by our failure to seize the moment."

It would have been the second time Elton had performed in Sussex in the past five years.

He agreed to slot the Goodwood gig in between dates in Las Vegas and Germany in July.

Father Forrester paid tribute to the "generous" help the Goodwood Estate had already given in rebuilding the church.

But he said: "These achievements are insufficient and we are left with a fully-fledged project, which will go for faculty approval during the coming weeks, with nowhere near enough money to fund the work."

The vicar praised the people who "worked tirelessly" to try to raise funds, including "all in the Elton John organisation, who have done their very best for us".

A spokeswoman from the Goodwood Estate said issues surrounding the gig had been "complicated".

She said: "The Goodwood Estate Company enjoys excellent relations with Boxgrove Priory church and its priest.

"Goodwood was fully involved in the planning of this concert from the beginning more than a year ago.

"A range of Goodwood facilities were to be provided free or at very low cost.

"However, a shortage of a significant agreed sponsorship only four months before the concert meant there was a possible loss of a large sum, which the Goodwood Estate Company did not feel able to guarantee."