Three people have been arrested following a full-scale security alert at Gatwick Airport.

The scare was sparked after a member of the public discovered an abandoned car without its number plates on the A23 near the south terminal at 8.50pm on Friday.

Part of the terminal was evacuated and more than 4,000 arriving passengers were prevented from leaving, police said.

Army bomb disposal experts carried out three controlled explosions before declaring the scene safe after five hours.

No suspicious device was found and the saloon car was removed for forensic examination.

Early on Saturday, three people were arrested on suspicion of placing an article with intent contrary to Section 51 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

They were being held at Crawley police station where they were being questioned. Police said inquiries were continuing.

Although flights continued to operate, the A23 and nearby perimeter roads were closed during the operation and Gatwick Express services were suspended An airport spokeswoman advised passengers to leave extra time for their journey.

John Dunkling, Sussex Police's chief inspector of operations at Gatwick, said: "The location of the vehicle and the situation that we found it in just gave rise to some suspicion about why it should be there.

"Whilst we regret the inconvenience to passengers, we were simply not prepared to take the risk of public safety."

He added: "Many passengers had young children with them. Despite this, co-operation we received was first class."