A gay rights campaigner has called on churches in Surrey to “embrace modern society” and allow civil partnership ceremonies to be held in their premises.

Gino Meriano has fought for the rights of same sex couples most of his adult life, welcomed a House of Lords vote this month to lift the ban on civil partnership ceremonies in churches and other religious venues, but said the gay community still faced a fight to attain equal rights.

Peers voted by 95 to 21 in favour of making an amendment to the Government’s Equality Bill to allow for the ceremonies, but if passed in Parliament it would not be compulsory.

Mr Meriano, who lives in Weybridge, said: “It’s still early stages. The ceremony doesn’t have any legal attachment.

"Couples will have to go to the register office to do the signing before the ceremony.

"If churches don’t have the signing part there is still more work to be done.”

However, Mr Meriano said the fact the amendment had been passed by such a large majority in the House of Lords showed things were moving in the right direction.

He said: “Ninety-five votes in favour of the amendment is fantastic. It’s stating, ‘We’re in a modern society and things need to change’.”

The reaction from Epsom churches this week was sharply divided.

The Reverend Simon Talbot of the C of E Parish Church of St Martin of Tours in Epsom said: “I welcome the opportunity to celebrate civil partnerships in our church.

"In our congregation we have gay and lesbian people and I feel previously we have missed the opportunity to fully welcome them in.”

But Reverend David Russell, Locum Priest providing cover at St Clements R C Church, in Epsom, said: “I totally disagree with the bill and have been fighting against it.

“A marriage should be between a man and woman and nothing else as it is the basis for procreation. It’s fine if the government wants to recognise them as partnerships but not as marriages.

“Only a man and woman can get married. Therefore I will try and prevent any ceremonies from happening at the church.”

Reverend Canon William Davern, from St Joseph’s Church, in Epsom, said: “We, in the Catholic Church, emphasise the importance of marriage between a man and a women and we enable such couples to celebrate the sacrament of marriage in the Catholic faith.

“I do not envisage that at any time soon we will be inviting same sex couples to celebrate their partnerships or marriages as this would be contrary to the teaching of the Catholic faith.”