Lauren Moss
Political Editor, BBC South East

Hauliers being held in queuing traffic due to Operation Stack are being offered care packages.

Eurotunnel and the Kent Resilience Forum will be distributing the packages to give drivers some relief while in gridlock.

It comes as lorry drivers were urged not to travel to ports in Kent after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.

The Faversham and Mid Kent MP, Helen Whately, says the county is "well prepared" for disruption in the county as Operation Stack is put in place.

BBC Radio 5 Live

The decision by France to close its border with the UK seemed an "odd" decision, said Richard Burnett, head of the Road Haulage Association, given freight had been flowing throughout the pandemic.

"Right the way through the pandemic we've had this principle where all the borders have remained open to critical freight, to ensure that food and medical supplies continue to move," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up to Money programme.

"We've had to manage different strains and different issues... We've worked very hard over the last nine months to ensure that the borders have been kept open, to keep that flow of products going.

"I understand that we want to try to contain the spread, but I think we've done that in a very practical way as a logistics industry, across Europe, throughout this year.

"It's going to be a pretty frustrating, miserable existence for the next 48 hours," he said.

Image source, Highways Agency

The MP for Folkestone and Hythe, Damian Collins, says he has been discussing with transport ministers a proposal to install the movable barriers on the M20 a week earlier than planned.

The barrier allows traffic to flow both ways on the motorway, using a contraflow, while lorries are being parked up due to congestion at the Channel ports.

They had been due to be put in place in time for the conclusion of the Brexit transition period at the end of the year.

Mr Collins said lorries will also be parked at Manston while disruption at the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone continues.

Lorry drivers are being urged not to travel to ports in Kent after France closed its border with the UK for 48 hours.

Operation Stack has been put in place on the coast-bound M20 in an attempt to ease congestion in the county.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said goods were still moving.

"Most of freight is not accompanied and that can still flow of course," he said.

Simon Jones
Reporter, BBC South East Today

Here at the entrance to the port, a big sign warns drivers - the French border is closed.

But the message hasn't got through to everyone. A steady stream of lorries and cars have been arriving, only to be promptly turned away.

The Port and Eurotunnel shut to traffic heading to France at around 23:00 GMT last night - in what is being described as an unprecedented situation.

One haulier who was stuck in a queue and failed to get on a ferry on time told me he turned around and went home.

But that option simply isn't available to foreign drivers. They are facing at least two days stuck in their cabs.

Part of the M20 motorway has been turned into a giant lorry park, as the government pleads with hauliers not to head to Kent.

It's set to be a challenging few day on this side of the Channel.

Image source, Reuters

The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, says the shops are "well stocked" and "in the short term this is not an issuue, in terms of supply".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “Things are flowing. Most of freight is not accompanied and that can still flow of course.

He said about 6000 lorries would have been expected to use the ferries or Eurotunnel services today but 32,000 units overall would have shipped.

"The shops are well stocked. In the short term this is not an issue in terms of supply but we are very keen to get it resolved.”

Image source, PA Media

The UK government should offer rapid testing to lorry drivers so they will be allowed back into France, according to Logistics UK general manager Alex Veitch.

He told BBC Breakfast: "The silver lining in this very substantial cloud is that we now have measures and tools available that were not here in the first wave of the pandemic.

"Now we have testing and so we are encouraging our government to look seriously at introducing rapid testing for drivers."

He also said he was very worried about drivers who are stuck in their lorries after France closed its border, and that plans to use the defunct Manston Airport site would be an "absolute necessity" for them to get refreshments and use the toilet.

Hauliers will be allowed to cross the Channel provided they test negative for coronavirus.

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