A petition with nearly 4,000 signatures has been handed to church chiefs in a protest against plans to close Brighton's main church.

Youngsters launched a campaign to save St Peter's Church in York Place, regarded by some as Brighton's cathedral, after the diocesan pastoral committee said it should be made redundant and its congregation sent elsewhere.

A group including Barney Paine, 20, and 14-year-old Clare Calder, both from Brighton, have campaigned every Saturday at the Open Market in London Road for the past two months.

They collected signatures from people in nearby shops and businesses as well as from residents and members of the church's congregation. They presented the petition to the Rev Ian Gibson, the chaplain to the Bishop of Chichester.

Their efforts are part of a high-profile campaign to save Brighton's parish church which has now been endorsed by the BBC journalist Jeremy Paxman, who presents Newsnight.

Barney, who has been a member of St Peter's choir for the past ten years, said: "We wanted to show how important St Peter's is to the people of Brighton. "It's like a quest for us and we hope people will take notice."

Clare said: "The support we have had has been amazing. Lots of people have come up and told us they were married in the church or their mothers or children were. It's obvious the church is really important to people.

"It's been great to have so much support. We are aiming at 5,000 signatures, but at this rate we may get 10,000."

The Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Rev John Hind, is due to make a decision within the next month about whether to approve the recommendation. If he supports it, the matter will be passed to the Church Commissioners, a national body, which will carry out a four-week consultation.

The protesters have pledged to fight to keep their church until the end.

The recommendation to shut the church was first revealed in February to the shock of wardens, parishioners and residents.

Many said St Peter's is one of the most iconic, beautiful buildings in the city and called for it to retain its status as a place of worship.

Parishioners voted overwhelmingly to fight the proposals with more than 96 per cent saying they wanted to save the building as a place of worship.

Jean Calder, from the Friends of St Peter's, said: "We hope for the best. However, it is widely expected that the bishop will endorse the recommendation. For this reason the Friends will continue petitioning in the hope of influencing the commissioners. The commissioners are said to be not at all convinced of the need for closure."