About 1,600 lorries are still waiting on the M20 to cross the Channel, the government says.

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Hundreds of military personnel have been deployed to help clear the backlog of about 5,000 lorries.

A further 800 personnel are to be sent to Kent on Christmas Day to help test drivers for Covid-19.

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Those with a negative test result can now leave the UK, but it could take days to clear the backlog.

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The first trucks have started leaving a temporary lorry park in Kent after France reopened its border with the UK.

It follows clashes with between frustrated hauliers and police, as drivers have become increasingly impatient to get home for Christmas.

France has lifted its ban on some UK arrivals, but only if they can show proof of a negative Covid test taken less than 72 hours before departure.

"We are very tired. We're staying in cars, we don't have a lot of food, no money," one lorry driver told the BBC.

"We just want to do the test and just go straight home," said another.

A huge backlog of traffic remains. It all adds to the pressure on the authorities to get as many tests done as quickly as possible.

Read more.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has repeated calls urging hauliers to avoid Kent, as Dover and much of the surrounding area remains gridlocked.

Tourists who are not French residents should not be travelling either, she said.

Charities drive from Maidenhead and Coventry to take food and water to lorry drivers stuck in Kent.

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Rod McKenzie, from the Road Haulage Association, has described the situation in Dover as "chaos", saying facilities for lorry drivers are inadequate.

“The government has said the borders are open but actually they’re not. And unfortunately that message having gone out, a lot of lorry drivers have started heading for the ports again," he told the BBC.

“The testing regime hasn’t started yet and without that starting, the borders can’t effectively open for traffic heading back to France.”

He said information for lorry drivers on the ground had been "extremely poor" and food provision "very inadequate".

There are also not enough toilet facilities for the thousands of trucks waiting at Kent's Manston Airport, he added.

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The Liberal Democrats have called on the prime minister to declare a state of emergency in Kent.

According to the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, an emergency can be declared during “an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in the United Kingdom or in a Part or region.”

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, warned that human welfare is seriously at risk in Kent and the prime minister must “act now” or “risk things spiralling further out of control.”

Mr Davey said: “Without food and access to sanitation, people are in real trouble. If ministers fail to act now and commit the resources needed now, they risk things spiralling further out of control.

“In the face of the risk to people’s welfare, the prime minister must declare a state of emergency in Kent.”

A Government spokesperson said:“We are working tirelessly to provide support to hauliers awaiting testing at Manston and the M20.

“Free food and water is being provided to all, and there are 12 food trucks at Manston with eight more arriving today.

"More than 200 toilets are in place at Manston, with toilets every kilometre on the M20 between junctions 10a-11.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel has repeated calls urging hauliers to avoid Kent, as Dover and much of the surrounding area remains gridlocked.

Tourists who are not French residents should not be travelling either, she said.

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A food industry body has warned of a "black Christmas" for fresh food producers, with lorries stuck at border.

Scottish salmon producers usually export 20 trucks of fresh fish every day via Dover, in the run up to Christmas.

Tavish Scott, of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation said losing access to the European markets was "really, really difficult".

"We look to export 150 tonnes a day... and that is simply not happening," he said.

"This is the crucial week in terms of the whole year... and nothing is moving."

Food and Drink Federation Scotland (FDFS) chief executive David Thomson said: "It's been an absolutely disastrous few days and it will lead to a black Christmas."

Companies have told the FDFS that the loss of Christmas sales may spell the end of their operation.

“We’ve heard of companies that are saying this is the final straw for them and that they will not be able to deal with the losses,” Mr Thomson said.

Image source, PA Media

A man has been arrested for obstructing a highway in Dover, according to Kent Police.

It comes as truck drivers trying to enter the port scuffled with officers.

Kent Police said it had received reports of "disturbances involving individuals in both Dover and at the DfT-run lorry holding facility at Manston who are hoping to cross the Channel".

"One man has been arrested for obstructing a highway in Dover and remains in custody," it added.

Thousands of drivers have been stuck at the port after France closed its border with the UK on Sunday.

It has since agreed to allow entry to its own citizens and some others, including truck drivers, on the condition that they test negative for Covid-19.

Kent Police said it is working with other agencies to make sure drivers hoping to travel into Europe "adhere to the latest government travel requirements regarding Covid testing".

Simon Jones
BBC Reporter at the scene at Manston Airport in Kent

There's a lot of frustration here this morning and we’ve been hearing lorry drivers sounding their horns.

What we’ve heard from people above all is there is a lack of information - the waiting, the not knowing what’s going to happen.

This morning a lot of people have been turning up on spec, people from Romania and Bulgaria who are in vans, hoping they might be able to get a test.

I think they will be told they have to go and join the back of the queue on the M20 or potentially if they’re a lorry be allowed on to the site here at Manston Airport, which is being used as a holding facility.

There have also been some scuffles in Dover where lorry drivers are just so frustrated they’ve been gathering near the entrance of the port. They simply want to be allowed to go home.

But if they’re parked up illegally in Dover or in lay-bys or on verges, they are not going to be the number one priority for getting a test.

Sikh groups, including Coventry-based Langar Aid, have arrived in Dover to help deliver food and water to stranded lorry drivers in Kent.

Two vans of snacks and bottled water have arrived at the scene, said Ravinder Singh from the charity Khalsa Aid.

"We are working with the local Sikh community to prepare 800 hot meals for the drivers which will be distributed later," he said.

While some of those hoping to cross the Channel to mainland Europe are queuing on the M20, others have been diverted around eastern Kent, via Manston.