Operation Brock to return to M20

Operation Brock sees lorries heading to Dover queue on one side of the M20

A traffic-holding system for lorries queueing to cross the English Channel will return to the M20.

Operation Brock sees lorries heading to Dover queue on one side of the M20, with the other carriageway operating as a contraflow.

The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) said the system would return due to high numbers of crossings booked between July and August.

The system, which was previously lifted in June, will be reinstated overnight on Thursday.

Operation Brock covers a 13-mile stretch of the motorway between junctions eight (Maidstone) and nine (Ashford).

It is designed to reduce the impact of disruption by directing lorries heading for mainland Europe onto the motorway’s coastbound carriageway.

Simon Jones, KRF's strategic planning lead, said the decision to deploy Brock was made to "ease congestion" and "protect the local road network" by managing freight bound for mainland Europe.

"The decision to deploy Operation Brock is never taken lightly and is based on data and intelligence that clearly shows there is a potential risk of disruption on routes to the Port of Dover and Le Shuttle," he said.

Mr Jones added the deployment of the system would be kept "under constant review".