Churchgoers have been warned they face tough times ahead on the financial front.

The alert was sounded in the latest edition of the Maybridge Messenger, the parish magazine for St Richard's Church in Worthing.

Church elder Tony Pye said: "In these difficult times for St Richard's it is very important we do our best to maintain, if not improve, the income of the church in order to meet our ever-increasing expenditure.

"At the annual meeting, our treasurer, Joy Young, pointed out it was only through the fortuitous receipt of two legacies that we were able to keep our heads above water last year and the budget estimate for the present year suggested expenses would exceed income by several thousand pounds.

"So there are obviously though times ahead."

He urged parishioners to step up their monetary contributions to the church in a bid to overcome a looming financial crisis.