The bad news for drivers in Kent increased earlier with National Highways alerting drivers, external about a collision on the M20 eastbound between J11-J12.

They said that the road closure, along with an issue at the A20 Roundhill Tunnel, was causing congestion and disruption, and significant delays heading to the Port or Eurotunnel.

In an update, external they say there are still severe delays as a result of the incidents.

Image source, PA Media

Officials at the Port of Dover have released a statement , externalabout the disruption today.

They say they are working to do all they can with ferry operators and local partners to assist with clearing the queues caused by "inadequate French border capacity."

They say resources have been increased at the French border and traffic is slowly beginning to move, but have warned passengers to come prepared with water, food and supplies.

They are urging French colleagues to "adequately resource the border, not just to relieve the current situation, but for the rest of the weekend and indeed the rest of the summer" in order to relieve pressure in the town and to allow families to go on their holidays and to keep essential trade moving.

The Port also encourages the UK government to continue working with France to help ease the chaos.

It's been an early start for the Janouseks, who set off from Tunbridge Wells in Kent at 05:15 after hearing about the gridlock.

Brothers Ben and Eric take their children on an annual trip to the Czech Republic, but fear this year their cottage stay will be cut a day short because of the knock on effects of the delays.

While the trip to the Port of Dover normally takes less than two hours, they have spent six hours in the car so far.

"We have less than one mile to go. If we get out the country today, we'll be delighted," Ben said.

Image source, Ben Janousek

One frustrated holidaymaker has paid £400 so he can avoid travelling through the Port of Dover with his elderly mother.

John Till, 45, booked onto a ferry departing from the Port of Poole with his mother Edna Johnson, 87, who he promised to take to Germany this summer to meet some friends.

He said that the changes cost him £400 but he had "no other choice" because he had planned the trip for "very long time" and there was "no way I was going to let my mum down".

"I couldn't run the risk of being stuck in a queue for four hours with no toilets and the horrendous drive the other side, so at half four this morning I made the snap decision to rebook travel," he told PA news agency.

Image source, PA Media

A critical incident has been declared at the Port of Dover and officials are warning passengers of long delays at border control.

• Holiday makers are facing delays of up to five hours to clear all security checks

• Ferry operator P&O is reassuring customers that if they miss their sailing they’ll be on the first available one after check-in
• Freight is being stacked up on the main approach routes to Dover
• The UK government has blamed French authorities for the delays due to a lack of staff at French border control

• Eurotunnel is not affected, but it will not have capacity to take any passengers from Dover
• National Highways said the weekend was expected to be one of the busiest periods of the year for holidaymakers

Images coming out of Kent show travellers heading for the Port of Dover's cruise terminal on foot in order to avoid the traffic problems.

Operator P&O has warned people to arrive five hours early for scheduled ferries.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

We've been hearing more from travellers grappling with the delays, with one couple waiting for a bus to shuttle them to their ferry since 05:00.

Detlef Henke, 50, had been on holiday in the UK with his wife, and had walked to the ferry terminal at 05:00, hoping to catch a bus to get them on to a boat departing at 09.50.

The couple missed their boat and were still waiting for the bus to arrive at 10.45.

"The guys told us that we must wait. They don't know where the bus is," he said.

The couple had at least been given vouchers for refreshment, he added.

P&O Ferries have tweeted an update to the situation at the Port of Dover.

They are advising customers to allow at least five hours because of the delays on the roads and at security checks.

But they say passengers who miss their planned sailing will be able to travel on the first available crossing once they have checked in.

You can get a good idea of the length of the queues waiting to get to Dover from the air.

This footage shows the miles of tailbacks caused by the delays at the port.

Doug Bannister, the Port of Dover's chief executive, said his team has been planning for this day "for months" and joined others in blaming French authorities.

"To be let down in the way that we have with inadequate resourcing and slow processing - through the border authorities - is just so immensely frustrating," he told the BBC.

Asked when he knew so many French staff weren't going to turn up for work, he said it "become apparent at around 04:00" that there were going to be issues today. Bannister added that the pressures of today, and what was going to be needed to make it through, were well known on all sides.

Pressed on how months of planning could lead to this, he said he wasn't sure; "all we can do now is get the right information out" to travellers, he added.

Bannister advised travellers due to set off later today to check in with their operator and apologised for the "way [their] holiday is beginning".

Image source, Tommy and Laura Gee

Newlyweds Tommy and Laura Gee say it took them more than two-and-a-half hours to complete a journey in Dover that was expected to take just 14 minutes.

The couple told BBC Radio 2 they are trying to go abroad for a honeymoon after tying the knot on Wednesday.

They stayed at a local campsite last night but their drive to the port was thwarted by queues.

"We left at 07:30 this morning for a 10:00 sailing to Dunkirk, but by 10:00 we hadn’t even reached passport control," they explained.

"They put us on a later sailing and we’re hoping we can leave within the hour."

Pictures show long queues at the Port of Dover this morning.

Passengers heading there are being told it will take at least six hours to clear all security checks.

Ferry operator P&O Ferries has tried to reassure customers tweeting, external, "if you miss your sailing, you'll be on the first available once at check-in".

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

The problems at Dover aren't just causing issues for people trying to get across the channel.

Dover Council say there is "dismay, desperation and anger in the air" as residents endure the collateral damage of the delays.

Trevor Bartlett, leader of Dover District Council, said children can't get to school because they are stranded on gridlocked buses - with some providers suspending their services altogether.

“Alongside the delays for tens of thousands of tourists, the local community is the biggest loser," Bartlett said.

“Serious questions need to be asked about how the emergency services would be able to respond to a major incident in Dover when it is completely gridlocked, and how this situation has been allowed to develop yet again."

Let's hear from someone who's been in the queues we're reporting on.

Lorry driver Muhammet Turker has been queuing in his HGV in Dover since 6pm last night, and was still waiting to cross the Channel on Friday morning.

Muhammet, who's from Turkey, told the PA news agency other lorries kept cutting in front of him in the queue.

"I've been in something like this before, but this is the worst," he said, adding the "chaos" was worse than when P&O workers protested against mass lay-offs earlier this year, causing gridlock in Dover.

He had been in his lorry since he left Manchester at around 1:30pm yesterday afternoon.

Image source, PA Media

France will deploy emergency border staff to ease the emergency traffic delays at Dover - but it "will take time to clear" the backlog, local MP Natalie Elphicke has said.

Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, said France was "put under pressure" by the Foreign Office to supply extra staff to manage the five-hour queues.

She told BBC News: "Quite simply, the French Border officers didn't turn up to work.

"I fully sympathise with anyone caught in the traffic delays today."

To give you some idea about the problems drivers are facing trying to get to Dover, Stuart Brock took this video earlier this morning showing some of the jams leading to the ferry port.

Image source, PA Media

Ferry passengers are being told to arrive at least six hours before their departure time in Dover "to clear all security checks".

Operator P&O acknowledged the instruction may be too late for those who've already set off on their journey but warned there's "heavy traffic" at border control.

It also advised people to bring additional water and snacks for the wait.

As we've been reporting, the Port of Dover has declared a critical incident amid the delays.

Image source, FRANCESCO CAPUTO

Francesco Caputo and his three children, aged 12, 11 and 7, are travelling from Southampton to Italy, via Dover, to see family.

"Everything has gone pear shaped," he said, explaining that when he left Southampton in the morning the advice was to arrive two hours before the ferry.

"The ferry we were meant to catch was 7:50am. We arrived two hours before, 1.7 miles from the ferry terminal, but we're not even there now.

"I can see the sea, which is good. But I'm still not in the terminal. I can't see the terminal.

"I've tried to keep the children busy, so far so good. They've been rather patient."

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The government has blamed French authorities for the delays at Dover.

Europe Minister Graham Stewart said some disruption was inevitable because of the scale of traffic, but he added that it was not a Border Force issue – but one for French authorities.

Stewart said: “It’s their ability to cope and process people that is causing the backlog."

He said French authorities had added extra booths to process passengers - and that UK ministers had been in touch with French counterparts in recent days.

Speaking to Sky News, Stewart added: “We have been planning for this on the basis this is the biggest peak moment of the entire year.”

Image source, @KATSTOCK81

In Dover, the port has declared a "critical incident" due to six-hour queues leading to the ferry terminal, with chief executive Doug Bannister saying it's been "badly let down" by the French border controls.

He told BBC Radio Kent they were "insufficiently resourced" in France and working slower than normal, causing traffic to queue for miles.

Travellers, some with young children, say they have barely moved for hours as they approach the port.

It is one of the busiest periods for foreign travel from the UK as most schools in England and Wales break up for summer this week.

Read more here.