Householders will have to live under the shadow of plans for a second runway at Gatwick for a further 15 years, an MP has claimed.

The Government has placed the airport on the "subs' bench," with expansion taking place only if proposals to add an extra runway at Heathrow fail.

Horsham Conservative MP Francis Maude warned a decision on a third runway at Heathrow could be delayed until 2019.

In the meantime, land at Gatwick will have to remain set aside for development and residents will continue to suffer property blight.

Mr Maude said the plan would have a "devastating effect" on the area, which is already highly developed.

In a Commons debate on the Government's aviation White Paper, he said economists hired by East and West Sussex county councils had concluded a new runway would require the building of housing equivalent to another Crawley.

He went on: "We all love Crawley dearly but the prospect of building another Crawley on top of the development already being imposed on West Sussex is not viewed enthusiastically in my constituency or in the environs of Gatwick.

"The maximum amount of uncertainty and blight has been created, not just around Gatwick but around all the airports in the South-East.

"I hope the Government will think again, and do what it can to accelerate the decision-making process."

Development at Heathrow will only take place if it can meet strict environmental guidelines.

It will not be clear if this is possible until about 2012.

The reports and public inquiry expected to follow would take another seven years, Mr Maude said.

Crawley Labour MP Laura Moffatt defended the Government's proposals.

She said: "Few people in Crawley criticise the Government's approach, which is a brave move forward on one of our most successful industries.

"Wherever I go, people acknowledge that the Government has tackled the issue."

Any further development at Gatwick is ruled out until 2019 under a legal agreement dating from 1979.