A petition against night flights from Southend Airport has reached 2,378 signatures.

Long-suffering residents living on the airport flightpath say night time cargo flights are disrupting their lives.

The Change.org petition said: “Every night between 11pm and 6.30am old cargo planes are disrupting residents sleep and polluting our skies. Thousands of households are affected by this from all walks of life – teachers, children, doctors, nurses.

“On January 25, seven flights throughout the night were recorded at regular intervals.”

The petition adds: “The flight path is getting wider and because these old cargo planes are noisier than most passenger planes operating from Southend they are more disruptive.

“The old planes used are so loud they are waking residents several roads away from where they fly over, so can you imagine what they are like for those directly under it.”

Resident Irena Grant, who started the petition, said the lack of sleep could potentially affect people’s health.

She said: “Sleep deprivation has been proven to lead to medical issues. It can affect your overall health and make you prone to serious medical conditions, such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, mental health issues and lack of focus/concentration, among others.

This week airport bosses said they were willing to work with furious residents to reduce the impact of flights upon them –especially if they live in Leigh.

A London Southend Airport spokesperson said: “We take the concerns of residents very seriously. We are working proactively alongside airlines and the local authorities to minimise the impact on our neighbours.

“Over 1,600 people work at London Southend Airport and we also make a significant contribution to the local economy.

“By using modern aircraft and encouraging pilots, whenever possible, to avoid flying low over residential areas, we hope to reduce our impact.”

Southend Airport chiefs met with Southend Council and MP Sir David Amess to discuss residents’ concerns about the impact of the terminal’s flight paths.

Sir David said the purpose of the meeting was to share the growing list of complaints from campaigners on air pollution and night flights.