A ROW broke out in Petersfield this week when the man behind the town's Christmas lights discovered funds were being collected for the festive illuminations without his knowledge. Vernon Peake, chairman of Petersfield Marketing Ltd (PML), and a team of volunteers have been responsible for the Christmas lights for the past three years. They have told Petersfield town council they will not be able to continue the job after putting up the lights this Christmas and the future of PML is to be decided by the directors towards the end of the year. But Mr Peake told The Herald, he was still in charge of the lights and was trying to raise funds to put on a good show this year. However, this week he discovered that Mayor Paul Molloy had accepted a cheque for £200 from Waitrose for the lights and townspeople were being invited to contribute further to the lights through Petersfield Tomorrow. "It came like a bolt from the blue and I was shocked and horrified," said Mr Peake this week. "PML is still in charge of the Christmas lights and neither Philip Haines who wrote to businesses on behalf of Petersfield Tomorrow, nor Mr Molloy, who should both have known better, had any right to interfere while PML are still in existence and still in charge." Mr Haines did not want to comment. Mr Molloy said he had been asked to accept the cheque as treasurer of Petersfield Tomorrow by Mr Haines. He said he believed Waitrose had made the contribution after a request from Mr Haines to businesses in the town for a contribution, following the success of the festivities held over the August Bank Holiday weekend. But Mr Molloy was unaware that the contribution from Waitrose had been given specifically for the Christmas lights and he said the cheque was currently being held by Petersfield Tomorrow. "As treasurer of Petersfield Tomorrow I personally support 100 per cent the money going to the lights, but I am just one officer and this will have to go to the management committee." "At the end of the day, it would appear it would have been better if Vernon Peake had received this cheque to prevent this confusion." Chairman of Petersfield Tomorrow Bob Ayer said: ""The town's Christmas lights are due to the great work of Vernon Peake and his team from PML and any contribution made towards them will be passed on. George Watkinson, who represents Petersfield town council on PML, said he had been "gobsmacked" to discover that Petersfield Tomorrow had received a cheque for Christmas lights. "I did not know they were trying to raise money for Christmas lights I thought Petersfield Tomorrow was about planning the future of Petersfield. I am not surprised Vernon Peake is upset as he is still in charge of Christmas lights and he is the one asking for money to finish off this year's illuminations. "This appears to me to be an example of lack of communication." A spokesman for Waitrose said the store had received a letter from Philip Haines at Petersfield Tomorrow asking for a donation and had been happy to support the festive lights.