A decision to sell off Britain's air traffic control service has led to new fears about safety in the overcrowded skies above Essex.

Brentwood and Ongar Tory MP Eric Pickles is seeking assurances after the Government's unveiling of the £500million sale of the National Air Traffic Services.

His call comes after a series of near-misses over west Essex involving aircraft using the notorious Clacton Corridor, which has been described as the M25 of the skies.

Mr Pickles said: "My only concern with this decision is that it makes the skies safer. My constituency includes some of the most congested air space in Europe with a stacking area for Heathrow, approach routes to nearby Stansted and City airports and smaller airfields including North Weald and Stapleford Abbotts.

"There have been several recorded near misses in the skies over Brentwood and Ongar in recent months and I want to see action taken so that such near misses become non-existent rather than turn into a mid-air collision because of the congestion in local air space.

"I'll be pressing the new air traffic control management to give me assurances that steps are being taken to tackle this important problem and I will then be monitoring to make sure their actions match their words."

Mr Pickles is known to be concerned over delays to a £339million air traffic control centre at Swanwick near Southampton, which will ease the pressure on the system. It was due to open in 1996 but is unlikely to be ready until 2002.

Aircraft handled by the current overworked centre at West Drayton have risen from 887,000 in 1978 to 1.7million in 1998. By 2004 Swanwick is expected to be handling 2.34million.

One controller can have to handle up to 40 aircraft at a time and on one day at Heathrow last month a record 98 planes took off or landed in an hour - one every 37 seconds.

National Air Traffic Services, which employs 5,000, is expected to be controlled by a private operator by 2002. The Government will retain a 49 per cent "golden share" to guard against any hostile takeover.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.