More than 2,500 jobs will stay in Sussex after defence contractor Thales UK said it had found a suitable site to consolidate its operations.

Last year the company said it was looking at a number of options to bring its various businesses in Crawley under one roof.

The preferred option at that time was to redevelop its plant in Gatwick Road but there was also talk of a possible move away from the county.

Now Thales has announced that, following an offer from a local developer, it has decided to move out of Gatwick Road to another part of the town.

The revised plan involves developing the area currently occupied by the Thales aerospace business in Manor Royal and an adjoining plot of land.

A spokesman for Thales said this would allow the company to build a "prestigious facility" with "some key advantages" over the Gatwick Road site.

The Manor Royal site is larger, more convenient for employees and deliveries, and will allow Thales to expand, following a number of major contract wins.

Also, the brownfield site's numerous access points - and the fact it was recently turned down for retail use - suggest there will be no major environmental or traffic concerns.

Thales UK plans to merge its seven Crawley-based businesses into this new facility, which will accommodate more than 2,500 staff.

The businesses include aircrew training, synthetic environments, train protection, naval communications, credit card security, radar systems and electronic warfare.

Detailed proposals for the new facility will be submitted for planning approval once further investigations into the site by Thales UK have been concluded.

Mark Rouson, communications manager at Thales, said: "We had been looking for somewhere to consolidate our Crawley businesses for some time and kept an open mind.

"It's great that we have found somewhere in Crawley because, not only is it near the airport, but it ties the company to its roots and is great for the local economy.

"It means there is another major manufacturing and services business in Crawley that isn't the airport - so it acts as a buffer when the airport business suffers."

Thales is the UK's second largest defence contractor, behind BAE systems, and has been a supplier to the Ministry of Defence since the First World War. It is part of the £13 billion Air Tanker consortium to provide the RAF with refuelling aircraft and last year won an MoD contract to supply pilotless spy planes.