COLD water has been poured over reported government plans to double the size of Southampton International Airport.

The airstrip was said to have been shortlisted - along with Stansted and Gatwick - for a second runway to cope with an expected rapid increase in demand for air travel over the next 30 years.

But speaking at a meeting of the Southampton International Airport Consultative Committee in Eastleigh on Thursday, the body's chairman Tony Balcombe said: "The one thing I would ask these people is: 'Where are you going to put it'

"There isn't any room for a parallel runway to be built alongside the existing one and there is not enough ground for an east-west runway."

Mr Balcombe said he believed the idea of an east-west runway had been picked up from a previous study - but the possibility no longer existed because of development on the line of the proposed runway or very close to it.

Airport director Colin Hobbs confirmed that as far as he was aware, airport operators BAA had no proposals to extend any of its airports.

He explained that the government had announced a wide-ranging study of airports and airport capacity in the South and South East of England which was being undertaken by the Department of Transport, Environment and the Regions.

But he stressed: "It is at a very early stage. The study is not expected to come up with any proposals until the summer of 2001 and they will then be the subject of public consultation."

Eastleigh Borough Council's assistant head of planning policy Tony Wright told the consultative committee: "It seems to be fairly clear that there are no proposals - people are being asked to investigate possibilities."

He added that council leader Keith House had written to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott asking for urgent clarification on the matter but had not yet had a reply.

Tory group leader on the council, Godfrey Olson, commented: "I would not want the public of Eastleigh to be worried about it at this stage because we don't know what to worry about. We haven't got the facts or the details and we know that studies go on regularly."

He added: "I think that most people with common sense will look at Southampton-Eastleigh airport and say 'Where could a second runway go anyway' We would need a lot of convincing before we could see that happening. Your airport is in safe hands."

The question of a second runway at Southampton had been raised by Airport Pressure Group co-ordinator Mary Finch who said she had taken a lot of calls expressing concern from people living in most areas surrounding the airport.