Residents in Hillingdon have been forced to celebrate Christmas on “death row” according to an anti-expansion campaigner.

Christine Shilling, press secretary for the campaign group, the No Third Runway Action Group, slammed the transport secretary's decision to delay a decision over expansion at Heathrow Airport until the new year.

Ms Shilling said that Geoff Hoon and the government are “dithering” over a decision which is simply clear.

She told the Hillingdon Times: “This is just another broken promise. We were told the decision would be made by the end of this year.

“A delay in the decision is only good if it results in the right decision and that is no third runway.

“In Sipson and Harmondsworth, residents are living on death row not knowing what the decision will be.

“It has yet again ruined our Christmas leaving us with uncertainty."

Ms Shilling highlighted that the government has said a number of times that it will only go ahead with the third runway if strict environmental limits are met.

However she also pointed out that the reason they say this is because the EU has set a target they must meet, which evidence has shown are impossible to meet with a third runway.

She added: “They cannot meet those targets and they clearly have a dilemma.

“There are millions opposed to expansion, which Geoff Hoon has recognised.”

Hillingdon Council, which is a member of the 2M Group, an alliance of local authorities representing residents living under flight paths affected by noise and air pollution, has also told how Mr Hoon's decision is “unsurprising.”

Councillor Ray Puddifoot, leader of the council, said: “Considering the long history of broken promises on Heathrow it's unsurprising that, having been promised a decision before Christmas, we are now forced to wait until January.

“We can only hope that this delay is a sign that the pro-expansion argument is buckling under the pressure of overwhelming opposition from all sides.

“The economic arguments don't stack up, the environmental impacts are immense and for Hillingdon residents it's another Christmas spent with uncertainty about the future of their homes, businesses and schools."