A Sussex centre used to detain failed asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants has been criticised for "institutional blindness" to their fate.

Tinsley House, based at Gatwick airport, holds people waiting to be deported from the UK.

Government inspectors said the centre provided a "place of safety" with a good standard of custodial care.

But staff were criticised for failing to give detainees sufficient notice of what was happening to them, or where they were to be sent next.

The inspection team, which was checking on the centre for the first time, said immigrants were not given chance to contact family, friends or legal representatives.

Their report, published today, stated: "Those being removed were lucky to have more than three days' notice, and some did not have that.

"There was no assistance to ensure their affairs in the UK were closed and they knew what to do on arrival at their next destination."

The report concludes: "There was a form of institutional blindness to the practical difficulties caused by detention and to the fate of many after their release."

Overall staff at the centre - which holds around 120 people - were praised for their "compassion and kindness" to new arrivals.

But inspectors said there should be clear procedures for dealing with bullying or asylum-seekers at risk of suicide.