Worshippers fear their church is in danger of going up in flames after being plagued by repeat arson attacks.

A blaze broke out outside St George's Church in Kemp Town, Brighton, in the early hours of yesterday.

It came exactly a week after a similar fire, which badly damaged doors at the 178-year-old church in St George's Road.

The arsonist set fire to bins outside the church on both occasions, causing damage which volunteers had to clean up.

Last week the bins had been placed just outside the church door, which meant the damage from the fire at about 5am was more serious.

Father Andrew Manson-Brailsford said: "If we hadn't had the good fortune of a neighbour raising the alarm, it would have set fire to the whole church."

The bins had been moved further away when they were set ablaze yesterday at about 2am.

Mr Manson-Brailsford said: "Luckily it didn't touch the doors this time but it caused enough mess.

"We have a great team here who have handled things very well. We've even had eight-year-olds running around clearing up the mess and helping put things right.

"But it is worrying to think of someone targeting the church like this. I don't know if it is significant that both attacks happened on the same day of the week.

"It has been suggested someone has been going around Kemp Town recently starting rubbish fires."

The work needed to repair the doors, and the expected cost, is being analysed.

The 1,300-capacity church is attached to a community centre equipped with a cafe, a creche and meeting rooms for local groups.

The arsonist who struck yesterday set fire to tarpaulin covering the mess caused by last week's blaze, which had also affected phone lines to the community centre.

Centre manager Tony Shadbolt said the blaze had put out of action computers and phones belonging to the Sussex Refugee Association, which uses the building.

He said: "Last week's fire also cracked the noticeboard with the heat and damaged the doors. It just makes the whole place look a little more tatty and rundown."

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said officers had been alerted by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and were treating the incident as a suspected arson.