Crawley Borough Council has called on the Government to reopen a debate on expanding Gatwick airport.

Councillors at an executive meeting last night voiced unease at the way the role of Gatwick had been "dismissed out of hand" in a report.

The report, the South East and East of England Regional Air Services study (SERAS), detailed plans for the development of Britain's air transport.

A spokesman for the council said Gatwick had only received a cursory mention in the report, with just a couple of sentences mentioning it.

He said: "We believe the report is flawed because it fails to adequately address the future role of Gatwick.

"We are not calling for a second runway. What we are saying is the Government should not ignore the potential of Gatwick.

"There has to be a rational debate on the future of the airport rather than it being dismissed out of hand."

The issue will be debated at a full council meeting on November 20.