A service which helps hundreds of vulnerable children every year is to close its doors in a finance shake-up.

The St Gabriel's project has provided a lifeline to parents and youngsters in Brighton for more than 25 years.

Teenage mothers and abused children are among those who have been helped.

The project's 18 staff are helped by a team of volunteers who run popular services such as a toy library which can be used by any family in the city.

But this week users discovered The Children's Society, which runs the centre, planned to shut St Gabriel's following a resources review.

Despite Brighton and Hove City Council being happy to continue funding, the charity aims to shut it down on March 31 next year.

The move will throw the future of the project's £1.5 million building in Wellington Road into uncertainty and mean the loss of all 18 jobs.

Parent Jane Launchbury said St Gabriel's provided an invaluable service to people from many parts of Brighton.

Mrs Launchbury, of Hanover, said: "I am very upset about the proposed closure and shocked about the way it seems to have come about, with no community consultation and a lack of plans for the provision of ongoing services for the many vulnerable young people and families who use the project. It is well respected nationally and hailed as a beacon of good practice.

"Since the boom in property value locally, I've seen the loss of nearly all our big old public buildings in Hanover to lucrative residential developments, which is very destructive to the community."

Dr Jo Tulloch previously worked at St Gabriel's and has joined the Friends of St Gabriel's, a group set up to save the service.

She said foster children, abused youngsters and teenage mothers have all benefited from the service, which costs about £400,000 a year to run.

Dr Tulloch said: "Along with many others, I feel utterly dismayed by the planned closure."

The Children Society's Penny Dene said the charity plans to keep the building in the near future and continue two other projects caring for young people and providing support for families of disabled children.

But it was looking at many options, which included selling the building.

A council spokesman said the decision was made by The Children's Society and the council had been willing to keep paying its share of the service's running costs.

He said: "We have been aware for some time they will be discontinuing their joint contract to provide assessment work for vulnerable families across the city when it runs out at the end of March.

"These assessments, many of which are statutory, will continue to be provided by our children, families and schools department. There will be no net loss of services."