A city's unofficial cathedral will not hold a midnight Christmas Mass for the first time in decades because church bosses say they cannot afford the heating.

But the Friends of St Peter s Church in Brighton has said it costs just £30 a week to heat the building and point to the church's large trust funds and charitable donations.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Chichester said the decision to call off t he midnight Eucharist was taken reluctantly and was due to a number of reasons, not just heating bills.

The news comes as The Argus can reveal that Londonbased Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) is pressing ahead with plans to take on Brighton's most prominent church.

Closure of the building in York Place was postponed in May after the religious group expressed an interest in taking over.

But the HTB cannot take up the reins until September 2009. The Parochial Parish Council has moved Sunday services to the church hall because of a lack of funds to heat the building during the winter and other problems.

Jean Calder, the friend's convener, said the church had also not bought a Christmas tree this year.

She said: "It is desperately sad that the congregation has been moved to the hall and that, for the first time for decades, there will be no midnight Mass.

"Not being able to have a real tree is the final insult.

"It's difficult to understand why, now we have only one service a week, we can't have the church heated for just that one day."

The church is connected to a number of funds, including The Robertson Hall Trust which generates £100,000 a year in property rent and has reserves of £150,000.

A spokesman for the church said: "We took the reluctant but realistic decision not to hold a midnight Eucharist on Christmas Eve this year for a number of reasons.

"Most of the main body of the church is closed off because of the problems with the ceiling, which is in a state of disrepair.

"In the space available it would not be possible to accommodate any great numbers. There is also very limited heating available, a major consideration on a winter night.

"This means there are few people available to prepare the church for the service and there is no organist and no choir.

"A Eucharist will be held at St Peter s on Christmas Day at 9.30am, to which all are very welcome."