Night flights are a nuisance to thousands of people living near busy airports such as Gatwick.

Now residents hope a European Court of Human Rights ruling that overnight flights at Heathrow violate human rights will affect Gatwick where there are more night flights than anywhere in Europe.

There are 50 flights each night from Gatwick in the summer, compared with only 16 at Heathrow. Their effect is great because so many people live under the various flight paths.

It's now likely that residents living near Gatwick will make a similar claim and the ruling will also be in their favour.

Gatwick is one of the busiest airports in the world and it's hard to eliminate night flights completely as some are long-haul from places such as the Far East.

It is also true that the airport has been there much longer than nearly all the houses and if people buy a home near Gatwick they know they could face noise.

There has been work carried out over the years to make aircraft quieter and to alter routes so they cause less inconvenience.

It should be possible for the airport and neighbours to work out a reasonable agreement over the level of night flights.

Successful legal action by the neighbours would prove a point but would not necessarily prove binding in this country.

Gatwick is a busy airport in the middle of the busy South-East. It's impossible to avoid some inconvenience to neighbours but common sense should result in a sensible compromise.