Port of Dover: Drivers face long queues for Christmas getaway

Roads approaching the Port of Dover were congested on Friday morning

Travellers heading to the Port of Dover on Friday faced long queues following a walkout by French workers.

Port officials said "exceptionally heavy traffic" caused delays for passengers making their Christmas getaway across the Channel.

With long queues to get to the port, drivers were encouraged to use the A2 and A20 to minimise traffic in Dover.

Port chief executive Doug Bannister said there was a "big surge" in traffic after a Eurotunnel walkout on Thursday.

The congestion started in the early hours of Friday morning but by 16:30 traffic in the immediate port area was moving normally.

Mr Bannister said ferry operators laid on extra sailings overnight to try to shift the backlog of traffic clogging approaches to the port.

The port attributed delays to a surge in demand for ferries after the walkout saw the Channel Tunnel rail link closed on Thursday.

'Shouldn't have happened'

Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover, criticised Kent County Council's highways department and the Kent Resilience Forum's response to the incident.

She said: "What we saw is a slow start, ineffective deployment and near gridlock in Dover town affecting residents and businesses alike in this busy Christmas period.

"It shouldn't have happened, it shouldn't happen again and I have made that very clear."

Toby Howe, head of the Kent Resilience Forum, said planning for such incidents was based on information provided by the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel.

He said resources from Kent Police and National Highways had to be pulled in, and they could not be on standby for every incident.

'Dover is clearing'

Mr Howe said: "Whenever there's an incident such as that strike, that we had no advanced knowledge of, it's very difficult to then get to grips with, but we have now pulled in resource."

The port said on Friday afternoon that travellers were facing a 60-minute wait ahead of the French border checks in Dover.

A spokesperson said: "We apologise but only drivers and their passengers with advance [ferry] bookings will be able to travel."

The port asked people to travel using main routes like the A2 and A20 to avoid causing congestion for Dover residents

Stagecoach South East, having been unable to earlier in the day, said at 14:20 that it was "attempting to run services back into Dover town centre".

The company asked people to be patient as drivers and buses got where they needed to be.

An earlier fault with the signalling system at Dover Priory station had led to delays to trains towards London, but had since cleared, according to Southeastern Railway.

Mr Howe earlier told BBC Radio Kent many people were "working very hard" to clear the area.

He explained the port had opened all of its French customs booths, but there had been a "huge backlog of traffic" with over 400 lorries on the A20 heading towards Dover.

Kent Police temporarily closed junctions eight and nine of the M20 on Thursday to be used as a lorry holding area, following the suspension of Eurotunnel services.