Plans for a third runway at Heathrow have been cast into doubt as analysis shows that expansion of Gatwick could bring greater economic benefit and be less damaging to the environment.

A public consultation on Heathrow has been reopened following a series of reports published by the Department for Transport (Dft), which assessed the impact that expansion would have on noise pollution and air quality.

The reports show that opting to expand Heathrow over a second runway option at Gatwick significantly increases the likelihood that Britain will miss its environmental targets.

And while it was originally forecast that Heathrow would bring greater economic benefits, new official analysis now states that Gatwick would deliver greater financial reward.

The earlier report, put out for public consultation earlier this year, claimed that Heathrow offered total benefits of between £59.2billion and £61.1billion over a 60-year period, outweighing the £52.4 to £53.7billion that could be gained from Gatwick.

But the latest analysis has flipped this on its head, with Britain set to gain up to £75.3billion from Gatwick, compared to just £74.2billion from the third runway option at Heathrow.