Brighton's Churchill Square shopping centre will be without a creche for at least four weeks after its sudden closure at the weekend.

Thousands of parents have been left in the lurch after Sproggs Playcentre shut down.

The creche was given notice to quit by centre managers after it failed to offer enough rent.

It means immediate redundancies for the six qualified members of staff who run the service.

Playcentre director Rod Davies said: "It came as a total bombshell. The manager called me into the office and said we had one week's notice to leave, he was putting a new operator in and that was that. I just couldn't believe it.

"I pleaded for an extra month so we could sort things out and inform parents but he said he could kick me out tomorrow if he wanted. Perhaps legally they can do it but morally it's wrong."

The doors of the creche were closed as staff worked to remove equipment in time for the deadline. Meanwhile, parents were being asked to sign a petition calling for the creche to remain open.

The facility has 8,300 members and looks after 500 children every week. Parents pay £4.40 an hour to leave their children with staff while they do their shopping.

Mr Davies said: "When we took over the service 18 months ago, it was agreed we could operate on a rent-free basis. Perhaps we were naive not to demand a lease or agreement but we didn't think there was a problem until now."

In October the creche was told it would need to pay some rent and Mr Davies offered ten per cent of takings.

He said: "We never had any response to this suggestion. The first I knew there was a problem was when the manager called me in and told us we had to leave.

"Perhaps the new operator can pay a higher rent but we haven't even been given a chance to negotiate. It's like being chopped off at the legs.

"We have had nothing but praise from parents, many of whom say they only come to the centre because it runs a very good creche. We have parents who come from all over Sussex."

Management consultant Roy Lipman said: "My daughter Natalie creche. It's a marvellous facility and I cannot speak highly enough of the staff and the service they provide."

He feels so strongly about the closure he has arranged to fly up to Edinburgh for a meeting today with Standard Life Investments, which owns Churchill Square, in a bid to keep the creche open.

He said: "I feel there has been a serious breakdown in communications. I'm willing to pay out of my pocket to sort this out."

Standard Life Investments said the decision to close the centre followed a competitive tender exercise in which the bid offered by Sprogg was substantially below that of the successful party.

Mike Hannigan, retail investment director, said: "The current occupier has been at the centre since opening and, throughout this period, we have heavily subsidised its operation. This will not need to be the case with the new operator.

"In making decisions like this which, at face value, can appear to be hard-nosed we are simply honouring the company's obligations to deliver the best possible return to our policy holders."

Mr Hannigan admitted the firm had not yet signed a tenancy agreement with a new operator but was confident a new childcare service run by Gymboree Play and Music would open in the next four weeks.

He said: "Sprogg has exercised its right to cease trading immediately. This means that, in the short term, there is no creche."