The Airport Commission's decision to back the expansion of Heathrow airport has been welcomed as a further nail in the coffin for airport plans on the Isle of Grain.

The government-appointed commission released its final report on expanding aviation capacity in the UK this morning - announcing that a new northwest runway at Heathrow is the best plan on the table.

Medway Council leader Alan Jarrett welcomed the news, saying the report "vindicates our lengthy campaign to stop an airport being built on the Isle of Grain."

He added: "The pie-in-the-sky plans for the so-called Boris Island Airport were a distraction we could have done without as we got on with our day-to-day business.

"We fought hard to block the proposal and will do the same if, as some reports suggest, the prospect of an airport in the Thames Estuary in Medway is ever raised again."

His comments come in the wake of recent remarks by former England footballer Sol Campbell - who confirmed last month he was standing Mayor of London and said he would revisit the idea of an estuary airport.

Cllr Jarrett responded by saying whoever the Mayor of London is should "confine their thoughts to their own city."

Medway Labour leader Vince Maple also welcomed the announcement, saying it "clearly shows that the Airports Commission agree that the Estuary Airport is not appropriate."

He added: "Medway Labour has consistently argued that any option in the Estuary, championed by Tory Mayor Boris Johnson, would be bad for the environment, bad for UK PLC and bad for Medway."

Read more in this Friday's Medway Messenger.