The Government has been urged to end the incarceration of children in a Sussex detention centre.

A report published yesterday accused ministers of causing lasting damage to young people by locking them up as part of the immigration process.

Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre, next to Gatwick, is one of just three centres in the UK to lock up minors whose families' asylum claims have failed.

The report, Alternatives to Immigration Detention of Children and Families, highlights growing concerns about the psychological and physical impact of detention on children.

It says as many as 2,000 children are detained in the UK every year - breaching national and international legal guidelines.

It calls for an end to the detention of children for immigration purposes and the introduction of support and legal advice for families whose claims have failed.

Last May The Argus reported that the chief inspector of prisons had found the protection of children at Tinsley to be "seriously deficient".

Anne Owers said the centre urgently needed to upgrade the way it dealt with child welfare.

An unannounced inspection found there was no dedicated child protection officer and inadequate criminal record checks on staff.

The Chief Inspector said: "I remain extremely concerned about the welfare of children in all the immigration removal centres that we have inspected."

So far 137 MPs have signed a Parliamentary motion condemning the negative impact of detention on children and calling for alternatives to be piloted.

They include Worthing West MP Peter Bottomley, Brighton Kemptown MP Des Turner, Brighton Pavilion MP David Lepper and Lewes MP Norman Baker.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Detention of families is kept to the minimum period and is subject to frequent review. Very few families are detained for more than a few days."