The test case was brought by a group of eight residents living under Heathrow's flight paths who argued that their right to a good night's sleep is impinged by night flights.

The court accepted their argument and has asked the Government to provide more evidence that night flights are

essential. John Stewart, chairman of

pressure group HACAN ClearSkies, was optimistic the decision could signal an end to night flights.

A government spokesman said: "We are arguing that night flights are necessary for the economic well-being of the

aviation industry both locally and nationally and for passengers themselves.

"We are trying to find a balance: night flights do cause disturbance and we try to mitigate it but we have to weigh it up against the outcome if we ban them

completely."