Motorists have condemned a series of speed strips around Gatwick as "like cattle grids".

Employees at the airport's Tinsley House immigration detention centre have organised a petition against the strips on the south perimeter road.

Debbie Jordan said: "They nearly took the bottom of my car off. They're so fierce. It's a nightmare and you're just slowing down in one small area and speeding up again, so it's not achieving anything.

"It's like going over a cattle grid but much bigger. It's ruining everyone's car by shaking the hell out of it."

Colleague Stuart Button agreed. He said: "They vibrate the cars terribly. There are no signs to say they are there. The ribs are probably too high. They really vibrate even if you go lower than the 30mph speed limit."

The rumble strips, about 12mm high and of thermo plastic, have been put in place along a 12 metre section of the southern perimeter road.

They were installed as an alternative to speed cushions which were removed after complaints from bus drivers. There were also reports that drivers were speeding down the middle of the road to avoid going over the humps, causing a hazard for other vehicles.

Last June drivers on the airport service road complained of neck-ache and had to take time off work because of 27 humps installed on both sides of the road.

The south perimeter road is a 1.5 mile route running parallel to the runway and is owned by the British Airports Authority.

BAA Gatwick development manager Mike Jordan said the strips will be in place for a trial period and a working group representing the road's main users had received two comments about vehicle vibrations.

He said: "Overwhelmingly, our key priority is the safety of all our staff and the users of this road and we want to continue to keep the south perimeter road a safe place to drive.

"Once this rumble strip trial has finished at the end of this week, the working group will assess the overall effectiveness of the trial, taking into account feedback on the effect on speeds and vehicles."

Users of the road have been invited to give their comments on the trial to the working group or via email to gatwickroadtrial@baa.com.