A campaigner opposed to runway expansion at Gatwick claims he can prove there is no need for a new take-off strip.

Brendon Sewill, chairman of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, has produced a 26-page report on behalf of the Aviation Environment Federation.

The document, titled The Hidden Cost Of Flying, is being hailed as a bible for anti-expansionists.

In his report, Mr Sewill fed new figures into a government computer model, which identified a need for more runway acreage.

It states: "The main new assumption was that aviation fuel was taxed at the same rate as motor fuel and that VAT was imposed on flights departing from all UK airports.

"With the fairer tax package, the numbers of passengers using UK airports would rise from 180 million in 2000 to about 315 million in 2030.

"This can be compared to the official forecast of 500 million.

"Gatwick would be busier than at present, handling 41 million passengers on the single runway but the computer model shows that there would be no need for any new runways.

"Not now. Not in 2015. Not in 2030. Not in the South-East. Not anywhere in the UK."

Mr Sewill has an economics degree from Cambridge University and was a former adviser to the Treasury.

He is being backed by Dr Caroline Lucas, Green Party MEP for the South-East.

She said: "Mr Sewill's report shows the Government's consultation paper on airport expansion is biased in favour of the industry."

The Council for the Protection of Rural England has also questioned the need for runway expansion at Gatwick during the next 30 years.

It has produced a poster which depicts an aircraft sucking in the green pastures through its turbines with the slogan: "Expanding aviation destroys the countryside."

A spokesman for the CPRE said: "The Government's options for expansion in air travel are based on a never-ending boom in air travel. There are question marks over whether this is feasible or desirable.

"It certainly isn't environmentally sustainable."

A pro-airport rally is to be held in Crawley High Street on Saturday, May 31.

It has been organised by Amicus and the AEEU union and among the speakers will be Laura Moffatt, MP for Crawley.