Speed bumps are being removed from an airport service road after bus drivers complained they were getting neck ache.

Several Airlink bus drivers have taken time off work since the sleeping policemen were installed on the 1.5 mile South Perimeter Road in April.

The route runs parallel to a runway and is owned by the British Airports Authority (BAA), which installed 27 humps on both sides of the road.

It has a 30mph speed limit but the humps - brought in to replace ineffective chicanes - slow traffic down to around 13mph.

Buses are used to ferry people to the airport's staff car parks, maintenance areas and hangars.

Drivers complained they were forced to drive over 1,600 humps every time they worked a ten-hour shift, which led to injuries.

There are also concerns that drivers were speeding down the middle of the road to avoid going over the humps, causing a hazard for other vehicles.

A spokeswoman from BAA said drivers who stuck to the speed limit would not be injured by the bumps.

She said: "It is a very straight stretch of road, which means it would be quite possible to speed along it if there were no obstacles.

"People have complained about the speed bumps so we have worked with the police and traffic consultants to come up with a solution that will work for everybody.

"Some of the speed bumps are being removed for a six-week trial.

"If during that period people obey the speed limit the road will not have the speed bumps back but if they do not then they will come back in.

"If people are driving at the speed they are supposed to then there will not be a problem with the speed bumps, they only affect vehicles that are going too fast."