Cathedrals across Britain are selling their historic fixtures and fittings to cover maintenance costs, it has emerged.

Newcastle's St Nicholas Cathedral, which dates back to the 1400s, is to sell 35 of its Victorian-era oak pews to raise money ahead of a £6m renovation.

Project chiefs say the decoratively carved benches, made in the 1880s, could become garden furniture or be used in hotels and restaurants.

They will be sold on a first come, first served basis for upwards of £450 and it is hoped the sales will raise up to £20,000.

Their replacement will be "plain, simple benches and chairs" which can be moved about easily for concerts and community events. Pews in the choir area will be left in place.

It comes after Durham Cathedral raised £125,000 by auctioning off 85 weather-beaten pieces of stonework which dated back to the mid 1800s.

The Right Reverend Dr Gavin Ashenden, former chaplain to the Queen, said the cathedral auctions are a sign that the Church of England is in "terminal decline".

"I think the difficulty the Church of England faces is that it no longer believes... It has run out of beliefs, money and people. That is a devastating combination," he told The Telegraph.